Statement of Forever
by 8cheshirekat
Summary: Jim/OC, Jesse/OC "Crazy?" "Yes, both of us." "Crazy doesn't cut it!" "You're blushing again...." FOR yonie
1. Prologue: Run

(Jim/OC, Jesse/OC) Love doesn't really know the difference between "crush" and "true". Justifying the ends, the means of getting there tarnish what's left of a broken heart. Mending a heart that gives it the power to duel, one girl needs someone to be her hero, another wants to be the heroin of someone's story. Two hearts from two very different sides come together in a tag duel that can save the four of them.

(**A/N:** This is a story for yonie. As per her request, I've installed my OC so her OC can be my OC's friend..... sort of..... GRAWR!!!! read on, readers, read on.....)

* * *

She felt a branch whip her across the face, almost digging out her nose piercing. She twisted away from an on-coming tree and her hair ripped passed her eyes, almost obscuring her vision. The flashes of red almost made her stumble, but she grabbed a tree's trunk and spun around, making a quick left turn.

Her black gloves knocked off the bark on the tree as her breath started to resonate off other trees.

She crossed her arms before her and vaulted through a thicket and into a grove again. These blasted trees were making it hard for her to know which way was "out" from this tangled, estranged thing called "a forest" that surrounded the academy she was supposed to be "attending" for these two semesters. She was frustrated now and slowed to a walk.

The sunlight hit her.

A halo of strawberry glowed about her head, dashed by gold in places. Her make-up had been slightly smudged from the sweat and her blue eyes looked back the way she'd come. Her duel disk was in her hand, rather than her arm. She started backing up, rather than running forward. If they came back, she'd have to run them again. But the blasted BioBand made her seriously doubt she could duel properly.

With a hiss, she glowered at it. Until--

"Gyah!"

Another girl came flying from the left. She tumbled to a stop at the red-head's feet. Like the red-head, she wore a dark gray jacket that covered her from head to foot. Unlike the red-head, she wore her duel disk and her deck was in the appropriate slot.

Her hair was black with red bangs and maroon low-lights. Her eyes were amber colored and she had black eyeliner and eyeshadow. She was short, compared to the red-head. Her nails were black with little orange stars.

"What're you doing, Juanita?"

Juanita, the red-head, covered the black-hair's mouth. "Hush, or they'll hear you."

The black-haired girl pulled Juanita's hand away. "They didn't hear me when I broke a tree branch. They certainly didn't hear me when I screamed in pain."

"You're such a wimp."

"Meanie!"

"Shut it!" Juanita covered the other girl's mouth again. "Shut it, Alyse, or I'll strangle you're Adam's Apple out!"

Alyse didn't say anything after that, but she followed Juanita. The duo picked their way through the grove. They made it a few more miles in the "correct" direction. Juanita was about to say something, when the duo heard a loud crash nearby. It wasn't a falling tree, it was heavy falling footfalls.

"Viper," Juanita hissed. She ground her teeth together, looking for another way to split. "Run to the right and curve when you've gone twenty yards. We need to get out of this blasted forest, and soon."

Alyse shrugged. "I don't mind. But how long are we going to be lost in here?"

"Hopefully, if I'm not wrong, then I presume just for a few more hours." Juanita was looking for another bush to dig a pot hole into. She found the perfect one and dug her heel into the dirt, shoving dirt to the left and right. "Now, scat, I'll give you a head start. I'll meet you at the crossroads again. Hurry."

Alyse vanished through the trees. She didn't run like a monstrous Mountain Lion, like Juanita usually did. Alyse sprinted like an antelope through the trees, getting over branches and down logs. Alyse's feet made no sound after about twenty seconds, but her little mass took longer to vanish.

Juanita dug into her pocket and took out her deck. She counted her cards. That was her way of giving Alyse time to slow down and take a breather. After she was done, she tapped them back into a neat pile and stuck it back into her pocket. She touched the birch behind her and scratched her nails along it. It made scratches like the big cats of the wild. She crouched down slightly and launched into the trees.

After a few seconds of getting her bearings, Juanita took the left road. She pushed off the tree and rocketed to the ground. She rolled when she hit, but the momentum gave her a spring for her next kick off. As she ran, Juanita prayed Alyse wouldn't be lost this time. The zig-zag patter they were using was only good so long as neither was stopped.

So long as neither was stopped....

* * *

Alyse: YAY! i'm alive!  
p3n-stroke: =____=;;  
Juanita: *chokes author* YOU'RE MAKIN' ME A MARY-SUE!  
p3n-stroke: *dies*  
Alyse: who cares? it's only chap 1 =w=  
Juanita: write me better!!  
p3n-stroke: *shows picture of Jim* |3


	2. Chapter 1: Sister Bell

Alyse broke into the clearing and stopped. She'd been right.

"My move!" Juanita drew a card from her deck. She had half her deck gone!

Alyse took note that Juanita had no cards on her field and her hand was seven cards strong.

"I play this; Animal Emblem!" She threw the card out on the field. "Animal Emblem allows me to summon all the monsters in my hand! I summon these four! Lioness, Hyena, African Wild Dog, and Ibizan Hound!" The four appeared, looking as menacing as if they would've destroyed everything with a nasty look. "Now, I play one card face down. Lioness, African Wild Dog, attack and destroy those tokens!"

"Your monsters will be destroyed."

"I know that!" Juanita lost one-hundred points. "Now, since I've only got one card in my hand, I'm going to play this!" She tossed down the Spell Card. "Call to the Beast! This allows me to gain every single Attack Point from my destroyed monsters and turn that into Life Points! Not to mention I activate the African Wild Dog's special ability. Since he's a Level Four, draw four cards." Juanita drew her four and smiled. "Any Spell or Trap Cards are allowing my Graveyard monster to attack!"

"I've got three."

"Say goodbye to those last nine-hundred Life Points of yours! Because I've got four Spell and Trap Cards." Juanita smiled. "Since I see an opening, with only fifty Life Points left to you, I'll play my face-down!"

"But you just put it down!"

"Against the rules? Not quite. If I send Animal's Howl to the Graveyard without playing it, all my Trap Cards are able to be activated. So, come forth, Humanoid Emblem! Mizura is summoned and destroys what little is left of you." Juanita didn't wallow in her victory, but she grabbed Alyse, whom she'd spotted, and the duo ran for it.

"Wow! You're so good!"

"Stuff it. Just move. All I've got is enough energy to run about another twenty yards. Don't stop."

Alyse didn't need to be told twice, but she noticed Juanita's BioBand activated. It absorbed the energy and then dashed off in whatever direction the energy went.

---3 hours later---

Jim was moving bushes and looking for signs of life. He really didn't have anything to do. Somehow, doing nothing didn't seem really good right now.

He stopped. Was that a pot hole _under_ a bush? He moved the branches and noticed it was still fresh. He stood up and noticed claw marks on the tree's bark. He raised an eyebrow and watched the way the marks moved. He brushed his fingers along the lines, flowing towards a direction. He moved around the tree.

Shirley started growling and Jim looked around. She was crawling away and Jim followed her.

He found them.

Two girls, sleeping idly under a tree. The red-head had her arms across her stomach and looked dead. Jim thought so until she groaned and her head fell to the right. The other girl was curled up slightly, like she was asleep on her own bed. Her black hair was matted against her sweaty face.

Without a second's thought, Jim scooped up Shirley and used the "Student ComLink" and called for someone to come out, fifty feet from the main walk way, to assist him with two down girls. He set Shirley beside the red-head and knelt down. He checked their pulses and was relieved to know their hearts still beat. But the black-haired one was barely breathing and the red-head's heart was slow, almost unnerving how slow it beat through her body.

He was soon joined by Professor Crowler, Miss Fontain, and Jesse. He was trying to lift the red-head when he got kneed in the gut.

Doubling over, Jim had to back away then.

"Don't touch me, you filthy man!" the red-head yelled. She grabbed the black-haired one off the ground, holding her like she would a baby. The black-haired girl's head fell into the crook between the neck and the shoulder. "Don't you even _think_ of touching me." Her eyes were cold blue.

Jim stood up straight. "Sorry, milady. I was just trying to pick you up so we could get you back to the school."

"We?" She turned her head and the blond streak beside her face, came loose of the black-haired girl's weight. She spotted Crowler and slowly set the other girl down. Whatever Crowler seemed to look like or do was making her uneasy and irritable. "Who are you anyways, amico?"

"Amico?" Fontain asked. "Are you Italian, young lady?"

The red-head drew herself up, nice and tall, her hands clasped behind her like she was in the military. "Sì, sono Juanita Jones."

Fontain smiled her warm smile. "Then this little one must be Alyse Jones."

Juanita nodded and looked down. "Is there any place for her to get an oxygen mask?"

"Wait, are you two related?" Crowler asked. It was obvious that his speaking made Juanita angry, because she picked up her Duel Disk and chucked it at him. "Ow! That was very _inappropriate_, Miss Jones!"

"Inappropriate or not, don't you _dare_ talk down to me, travestimento omosessuali!"

Jim smiled. Whatever Juanita had against men made him see a strong woman. He could also see, with his bandaged eye, her pure soul and her honest heart. Juanita hid herself well behind a straight face and an angry fist, but without either of those, Juanita was still a woman. She still cared about herself and her "sister" and her friends. But she hid it so well.

Jim was almost fooled.

"Do you need a place to sleep? You seem tuckered out."

Juanita turned on Jim. "No, I don't. She does." Juanita picked up Alyse again. "Is there anywhere I can get her oxygen?"

"Yes, this way."

"After you, Juanita," Jim said, gesturing.

Jesse stood there and watched the two pass. His eyes were fixated on Juanita, until he spotted Alyse.

Alyse's eyes were open, but only halfway and her face looked gray and ashen. Her eyes were glazed and her body hung limp. Her Duel Disk fell and clattered beside Juanita's.

Jesse and Jim took notice then that when Alyse's Duel Disk hit Juanita's they heard a resonating chime. It echoed only slightly. Lifting the Duel Disks, the boys discovered identical bells the size of a small pendant. They were tied around the piece that connected the field to the arm piece. The resounding sound was that the bells were made of two different colored crystals. One was wine red and the other was pitch black.

---Alyse---

She finally woke. Looking around, she saw Juanita being treated for a busted shoulder and scrapes on her arms.

Juanita's gray jacket lay in a heap on the floor and her black gloves were resting on the other side of the netted screen.

Alyse made a noise, because she couldn't talk clearly right now. Juanita quickly came to her side. "What is it?"

Alyse smiled and gave Juanita her little wink.

Juanita leaned over and gave Alyse a whispered goodnight. As she stood up, Alyse's eyes closed again.

"Is she really your sister?"

"She's the lucky one," Juanita said. "I don't call it 'sisterhood', I call it 'best friendship', Miss Fontain. Please, be sure she sleeps well. I need to get something she dropped." Juanita bowed to Miss Fontain and retreated to her Italian. "Vi ringrazio molto, infermiera. Prenditi cura di mia sorella."

Miss Fontain smiled. "No need to thank me. Besides, your sister will be safe here. Go on. Get whatever it is she dropped." She touched Alyse's hand. "I'll stay with her until you get back."

Juanita smiled a rare smile before snapping her heels together and saluting Miss Fontain. She turned and left, slamming the door behind her.

"I know you're awake."

Alyse opened her eyes sleepily.

"You'll be safe. You've got an angry sister."

Alyse nodded and her eyes closed again.

"Ah, the Jones Sisters. I wonder what you're doing here, of all places? Ah!" Miss Fontain realized that Juanita had forgotten two boxes on her bed, along with her black gloves. "Ah, well, she'll be back, she said."

* * *

Juanita: ....  
p3n-stroke: T____T  
Juanita: ....  
p3n-stroke: I'VE MADE THEM SHALLOW ALREADY!!!  
Juanita: .... *restraining killing intent*  
Jim: that's cute....  
Juanita: .... *smiles brightly like nothing's wrong*  
p3n-stroke: well, that was fast....

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sorry if I spelled Miss Fontain or Professor Crowler's names wrong.


	3. Chapter 2: Dragons and Leaves

Juanita was moving branches.

Thunk.

Another one.

Thunk.

She finally found it. Alyse's deck box. She grumbled and kicked twigs away from the box. She bent down and scooped it up. She was cursing profusely under her breath. She was so angry and frustrated that it had taken her the better part of two hours to find the blasted black box.

Her orange shirt was slightly dirty, but her boots were dirtier still. Dust had been knocked off of the huge branches she had to toss aside. Now that she had the box, she had to figure out which way she'd come from.

She slipped as she climbed over a log. She swore so loudly a few birds actually fluttered away.

She kicked the log and it rolled away, into the night.

Sadly, that made her swear again. This time, in Italian, and she didn't feel like stopping there. She used Alyse's language, Japanese, to swear some more after the log. Of course, she started to swear in English while she was at it. Juanita kicked a rock down after the log, cursing it for it's short life.

She turned away and took one step and stopped.

Viper and Axel stood at the top of the slope she had to get back up.

Juanita knew what they wanted, but still.... "What do you want?"

"Give up. You and Alyse will go back to the facility to be tested and used." Viper gave a nasty smile. "If not, Axel has a deck specially designed to take you out."

"And then what? I've got no Duel Disk to use. I lost it while I left the forest. Not to mention my deck could easily beat anything Axel has up his sleeve." Juanita moved passed them when she saw her Duel Disk perched on a stump, glistening in the moonlight. "No, I won't duel. I need to get this," she shook the box, "back to Alyse."

"Aw, will poor Alyse even care?"

Juanita snapped then. She snatched up her Duel Disk and faced Viper, not Axel. She used it as a battering ram and--

WHACK!

Viper stumbled back. The sheer force of her swinging it from turning and from over her shoulder had caused his cheek to turn red and blood to come from inside his mouth. He turned and looked at Juanita, who was standing there, the Duel Disk held high, ready to strike again. She noticed his eyes avert to Axel, but before Axel could react, she had struck Viper again, this time, right across the face, scraping the skin off his nose.

"Say that again! I dare you! Mi permetto di dire che ancora una volta, è vile vecchio serpente!"

"What did you just say?!" Viper demanded, standing up. "Speak English, you blasted Italian!"

Juanita's hand clenched on the arm of her Duel Disk. A stress mark popped on her forehead. "What? Did you just call me a 'blasted Italian', Viper?"

Axel took a step back. He remembered the first time she'd been insulted....

---_flashback_---

Axel had stood behind Viper as he greeted each student from all over the world. The last was to come to him personally.

Four students would be individual duelists. Two would be a tag-team that had won the International Championship Tag-Duelist title.

The Jones Sisters.

They entered the room. Juanita came in first and Alyse closed the door.

Axel didn't remember exactly what was said, he just recalled saying something as a comment on something Juanita had said.

Next thing he knew, Juanita had done a very miraculous upper-cut followed by a knee to the jaw which was followed up by a flick of her toes. Axel had been thrown back and up, fairly high, fairly far. He'd landed and his jaw was fractured and his lip bled. However, Juanita wasn't finished. She took her best and favorite card from her back deck and threw it right at Axel and it had--

---_end_---

Juanita grabbed Axel's wrist. "Duel me. Right now! Prove to me that Viper chose a good subordinate to play lap dog with!"

Axel didn't need to be told twice. He activated his Duel Disk. Juanita smirked and ducked. She jumped back, high, and landed just far enough away to create a field between them.

"Sucker. I won't lose to you! Nobody's ever beaten my Dragon Deck!"

---Jesse---

He saw the moon stream in. He kept looking back, over his shoulder.

He was sneaking away again. He found what he was looking for and stepped into Miss Fontain's ward. Jesse wanted to get a good look at Alyse.

He had just stepped in when he noticed Miss Fontain standing by the window. She had her hand on the window pane.

"Please don't disturb her. You can look, though."

Jesse mad a noise o approval and stepped over the the curtained bed. As he moved the curtain, he saw Alyse and he sighed. He was right.

Alyse had maroon hair coming in low lights. Her face was smooth, save for the little black tattoo at the corner of her right eyebrow shaped like a small heart. Her left ear, which was exposed, had a diamond stud and a silver earring that was shaped like a jumping cat.

Jesse looked over his shoulder at Miss Fontain. "What're you looking at?"

She pointed. "Someone's dueling out there. It's surprising, really."

Jesse nodded in agreement.

---Juanita---

"Blast you! Axel, you're such a goody-two-shoes! Have a back-bone and fight me!" Juanita put her hand on the top card of her deck. "My move! Draw!" She looked at the card and a smile broke across her face. "Since I've got Morte on my field, I'll slap this sucker down! Say hello to Vita ProsperStar! Now, I negate your Swords of Revealing Light! Morte is put into Attack Mode again. Morte, attack his Wall of Illusions!"

"But I've dwindled Morte's power down to a measly five-hundred points. What could you possibly do?" Axel said, smug and all.

Juanita smiled evilly. "Yeah, and Morte's effect kicks in!"

"I thought his effect was to negate Swords of Revealing Light!" Axel said, shocked. He gawked at Morte's dark purple wings spread.

"Yeah, and that's because of Vita." She gestured. A cloud shifted in the sky and Axel saw Morte and Vita in the light.

Vita was elegant, beautiful, and had curves and designs all along her neck and wings that would put the best artist, Pegasus, to shame. It's colors were mostly white. The leather between the throngs on the wing were a soft amber. The eyes of the dragon were pitch black with a blood-red sheen to it. Vita's teeth were perfectly straight needle-like teeth that made the optical illusion of being one huge tooth all the way across the jaw.

Morte was a large, black, menacing thing that towered over Axel. It was larger than Vita by at least half a neck. It was mostly black, save for the leather between the bones in it's seven wings. The leather was tattered and holed, like this dragon had seen war before. The leather was blood red and seemed to drip blood as the wings flapped. The teeth, unlike Vita, were jagged, uneven and yellow. It's eyes, however, where stark white with a gentle amber glow.

"Now, Morte, destroy yourself and Wall of Illusions!"

Axel ground his teeth together and shielded his face from the wind kicked up by the explosion.

"I'm not done yet! I activate the Spell Card Fontana di Forza!" She threw it down and it activated. "Now that you're wide open, I'm going to attack you directly with Vita! Vita, take him down!"

"Not quite! I activate Magic Cylinder!"

"So be it! I activate Negate Trap!"

Axel bit his tongue, but threw his hand out anyways. "I activate Magic Jammer!"

"Then I'll save my precious attack! I activate the Trap Card Distance, Disturbance, Dragon, Disaster! This card allows me to negate all cards played in this chain!" Axel was about to release another card when she interrupted him. "However, now only I can play Spell or Trap Cards, Axel. So, without further ado, I activate, from my hand, the Field Spell; L'Antico! Since my Vita hasn't successfully attacked you, it's still playable!"

Vita's points went from her base of three-hundred Attack and four-thousand Defense to six-hundred Attack and eight-thousand Defense to eleven-hundred Attack and eight-thousand-fifty Defense.

"And that's the duel. You've only got a thousand Life Points left." Juanita smiled. "Told you nobody's beaten my Dragons before! Now you know why." She turned and high-tailed it, lunging over logs and slightly mossy stumps and boulders. She felt the BioBand activate, but kept right on going anyways. She had to get into the clear before she stopped. If she could make it that far, she could walk right back to her little annoyance called a sister.

'_Hang on, Alyse. I've got company._'

She turned around and was faced down by Adrian. "I see _you're_ the stronger Jones."

"If you say that." Juanita shrugged. "Look, I'm not hanging around and I'm certainly not stopping to talk to you. Now, leave me be or I'll make sure someone finds you stripped and neutered in the morning."

Adrian just shook his head. "I just wanted to compliment you." He dipped a slight bow and walked passed Juanita. "Just don't let Alyse hear you in your victory speech in a single duel."

Without really stopping, Juanita slammed her fist into the back of Adrian's neck, knocking him out. She had an idea and stuck Alyse's deck box into her vest pocket and grabbed Adrian's wrists. She dragged him away and to a cliff.

---daybreak---

Jaden was stretching and yawning as he left the Slifer Dorms. To his dismay, he was up to early for breakfast, so, he went to explore.

And found Adrian.

The red-headed Russian was tied to a wooden steak that was pinned vertically from the ocean below. He was almost completely nude, save for a small cluster of leaves over his....

Jaden burst out laughing.

Adrian cursed out Jaden in Russian and demanded the Silfer get him off the steak and help him get his cloths, which were smooshed under a rock nearby.

Jaden couldn't he was laughing too hard.


	4. Chapter 3: Blasted Argumentive Men

"Juanita?"

"Not now."

"I just wanted to know why Adrian's all red when you look at him now."

"Alyse, I said not now."

"Then when?"

"Whenever."

---Jim---

He swung his leg and....

Jim watched the paper ball soar through the air and land in front of Jaden. Jaden punted it back to Jesse. The two of them were amusing themselves. Jim was in the shade with Shirley. He tried not to think of anything "important", just stuff he'd want to do later in the day, when it felt more like home. He gently put his hand on Shirley's nose.

He was about to wake her when a loud yelp made everyone stop.

Juanita was standing over Alyse, and her hand was held as a fist. Apparently, she'd just knocked Alyse down. "Shut it! I am not!"

"I didn't mean it like that...."Alyse was cowering slightly. "You're just angry because I lost my bell!"

"Yes! I'm infuriated you had the nerve to lose it!" Juanita was about to strike Alyse again when Jim felt Shirley move.

The crock sped over and pretty much body-slammed Juanita. Jim quickly got up, grabbing his Duel Disk, and ran towards the two girls and his Shirley.

"Hey! No! Heel!" He quickly grabbed her tail and dragged Shirley clear of Juanita. "Sorry, mate, she's been acting up." He quickly stroked Shirley's nose. "Sorry."

Juanita stood up and, without really thinking, hit Jim across the face with her open palm. "Keep your wild animal off me! I don't intend to be flattened by a coccodrillo who's somebody's estranged pet!" She raised her hand and--

"NO!" Alyse grabbed Juanita's hand from behind. "He didn't mean it! Don't believe her," Alyse quickly said to Jim. "Please, just don't believe her."

"You're crazy!" Juanita howled at Alyse, spinning around and grabbing the girl's elbows. She shook Alyse back and forth. "CRAZY!"

"I am not!" Alyse retorted and got another whack on the back of the head. "Juanita! Don't hurt Jim!"

Jim was more shocked that he'd just been slapped. He touched his cheek and felt his skin and bandages. He'd never been _slapped_ before. It actually stung.

"James Cook?" Alyse was kneeling beside Jim. When she noticed the red mark, she quickly got her hands on his face and was looking at it. "Juanita, look! Your nails scratched him!"

Juanita took note and quickly made work of ignoring it. "So what? He's a man. He'll get over it."

"Juanita! kara ni shazai!"

"NO!" Juanita stamped her foot. "I have no intention of being to nice to that.... that.... man! He's no better than father!"

Alyse gasped and quickly covered Jim's ears. He could see Juanita's mouth still moving, but the movement was unfamiliar. She must've been speaking Italian. He watched them for a moment before he gently took Alyse's hands off his ears. He gave her a kind smile before turning to Juanita. "I understand you're angry, mate. I'm truly sorry she hurt you. Shirley's a good girl most days. I think she's just upset."

"Stay out of this, pezzo di spazzatura."

"Juanita! Be nice!"

"Bite me!"

Jim was about to say something when Alyse actually bit Juanita's outstretched hand.

There was a silence that you could've heard someone breath.

Jesse suddenly burst out laughing and Juanita's anger died. Alyse spit whatever nasty taste Juanita's black glove had. She was on all fours and looked like she was throwing up fake vomit. Jim was more in shock that Alyse acted like an animal. He was about to speak again when--

"ALYSE!"

"I'm sorry!" Alyse quickly rolled over and held her body rigged like a dog, her arms in the air and her toes reaching for the sky. "I got carried away."

"So weird, è straniero."

Alyse smiled broadly again. "I bet they think we're barking mad again."

"Crazy?" Jesse repeated.

"Yes, both of us." Juanita pointed at herself and then at Alyse. She crossed her arms and waited for the sentence they'd both heard much too often.

"Crazy doesn't cut it!" Jesse said, waving his arms in the air.

"You're blushing again...."

Alyse laughed. "kare wa totemo kantan de, sekimen wa omoi mase n ka?"

"What did she just say?" Jesse asked, trying to hide his blush. He'd blushed when Alyse had said "good morning", he'd blushed when Juanita called him a fuzz-ball head, and now he was blushing because.... Alyse was laughing and her smile was so pretty.

"She said, 'He blushes so easy, don't you think?' before she started laughing again." Juanita shrugged. "Whatever. She's a pathetic excuse for a sister anyways."

"Hey," Alyse said, making a face at Juanita. "I'm not pathetic."

"Really? What about the times I've had to save your sorry butt in a duel? You still think I'm making no sense?"

Alyse made an "ouch, that hurt" face. "You're the weird one."

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Jaden said. Everybody had forgotten he was there, but now stared at him. "How's about we do a tag-duel! Jesse and Alyse Vs. Jim and Juanita!"

"What?!" came four voices.

Jaden smiled. "C'mon. It'll be fun. I'll ref!" He held his hand up like a referee.

Jesse smiled. "Sure, why not! It'll be awesome." He took Alyse's right hand in his left hand. "I'd gladly be your partner! I'd love to know your style of dueling! Your style of dueling tells the world who you are! Let me see, let me see, let me see!" He was hopping up and down now.

Alyse's face turned beat red. "Okay."

Juanita groaned and scratched the back of her head. She peeked out of her left eye at Jim. "Fine. No harm in owning you again, Alyse. You and your buddy there are no match for me and my Dragon deck."

"That old thing?" Alyse said, jokingly.

"Yes, my fossils-old-deck." Juanita put her deck into her Duel Disk and activated it.

Jim seemed to hear the hint and stood up. "If that's the case, then I'd be honored to be your partner." He tried to suppress as much of his accent as he could to say that.

Jaden smirked. "All right! The two-on-two match between Team Anderson/Jones and Team Cook/Jones begins...." He watched them carefully and dropped his hand, saying "NOW!"


	5. Chapter 4: A Duel to Remember

---_flashback_---

Juanita's hands flew across the field and she swept her victory out from under Alyse's nose.

"YES!"

Alyse, being only four, was still learning, but marveled at every lose Juanita handed her. Her black hair was always a tangled mess and her cloths were always a smidge too big. Her eyes were always wide with excitement.

Juanita flung her tangled mass of red hair back and shuffled her deck again. Her sapphire eyes shone brightly.

Today was a day that would change both girls for the rest of their lives.

Today, Alyse was going to be stolen away from Juanita. Today, Alyse the innocent was about to be turned into Alyse the illegitimate. Today was also the last time Juanita and Alyse would duel against each other.

"Missy Alyse," came the fake, sweet voice of the orphanage's head. He wasn't gentle, not the girls or boys, and always made them do things for themselves.

"Yes, sir?" Alyse said, sliding off her chair. Her plain, ugly, gray dress slipped off her shoulder. Her bare feet made soft "paf" on the slightly carpeted floor.

Juanita slid off her chair as well. As a seven-year-old, it was easy to see that Juanita would be a beautiful woman. She had a calm expression and gorgeous eyes and her legs were a little skinny.

"This is Mr. Jones. He's here to adopt you, sweetie. He would like to meet you, first."

Alyse, having learned from Juanita, put her best foot forward. She curtsied to the stranger in the doorway.

It had taken nearly a year before Mr. Jones came back. This time, he came for Juanita.

Juanita still hadn't gotten over the way he'd dragged Alyse's time with him until it was closing hour. Juanita still hadn't gotten over the fact that all her letters to Alyse came back "Return to Sender", making her feel useless and beaten down.

When he got her home, she realized it was a huge mansion. It was such a big house that Juanita was sure she'd always get lost. She was shown to a room by a woman in a stark black dress and a very stoic expression. She didn't know what to do!

The room was as large, if not larger, than the whole orphanage's playground! And there were duel decks and cards and even some Duel Disks! She was so happy!

But her mind quickly snapped to Alyse. Alyse had to be around somewhere!

The bedroom she was standing in looked like Alyse. It had a green, plaid bed with little green and white teddy bears with black eyes. The carpet that covered the highly polished floors was Alyse, too, with it's bright orange and yellow design like a swirl. The drapes screamed Alyse, too, what with the neon yellow and dark blue. Alyse had always been like that, always the odd-ball.

A door to the left and farthest away from Juanita opened and a girl was wheeled out.

At first, Juanita didn't know what that was, then she realized the girl was Alyse. "Alyse!" She was exhilarated to see her. But suddenly, her feet stopped.

Alyse's eyes were downcast and her face looked emotionless. Her hair was damp and her servant put a towel over her head. Alyse's body looked frail and there was a bruise on her right wrist. She looked so worn down and so beaten up.

"Alyse...."

"Miss, please, leave her alone. She's had a rough day."

"No, it's fine, Janice. You'll have to leave Alyse to care for herself now. This is Juanita and you will be in charge of her instead. I'll have someone tend to _her_ later. Prepare Miss Juanita for her first duel, against Alyse."

Juanita's eyes widened and she tried to suppress her shock.

--_end_--

Juanita looked up.

Alyse was looking down.

Juanita knew why. She reached under the Duel Disk and gently flicked her bell. It gave off the ring that always alerted Alyse when Juanita was going to go for broke. She noticed Alyse didn't look up. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Alyse finally looked up. "Too long. I wonder what will come of this, Juanita?" Alyse said, a smile on her face.

"Well, any special rules, Jaden?"

"A few. Both sides will share eight-thousand Life Points, field, and Graveyard. During each of your individual turns, you can attack both opponents. Also, if you use a Field Spell, all players are to oblige by the rules." Jaden smiled brightly. "Any other questions?"

Alyse and Juanita smiled.

Jaden nodded. "Alright, Tag-Team Duel! Jesse and Alyse VS. Jim and Juanita! Begin!"

Juanita drew her card first. "Heh, works well." She threw it down. "I play this card face-down. Next, I summon Ancient, the Old Dragon in Defense Mode. Your turn."

Alyse nodded and touched her top card. With a deep breath, she drew. "Ah!" Alyse smiled and added the card to her hand. She chose two other cards. "I'm going to start with the Continuous Spell Card Juggling Daggers. While this card is in play, I can activate a monster's special ability by discarding it right from my hand. So, I'll see you later, Hoshi!" She tossed a card into her Graveyard. "Next, I play one monster in Face-Down Defense Position."

Jim drew his card. He wasn't sure what Juanita's Face-Down was, but he had faith in her. "I'm going to play one card Face-Down and end my turn."

Jesse didn't do anything. He just drew a card and shrugged. "You're up, Juanita."

"Right. My draw." She took the next card and smiled. "Ah, now this is it. I tribute Ancient, the Old Dragon to help summon out Vita ProsperStar. Before he goes, Ancient attacks you both directly. Ancient! Destructive Fog!"

Jesse braced himself as the attack came, but it hit Alyse, instead. He was surprised. Alyse's eyes were cold and cruel.

"Hm, strong eyes," Juanita said. "Too bad. Next, I play this, the Trap Card, Never Home! With this card, all Fossil, Dragon, and Reptile-Type monsters can attack twice per turn! I know, can't activate a Trap Card on it's play turn. However! Ancient, the Old Dragon, has a dual effect! He can allow me to use a Trap Card instantly once after his departure. For now, Vita will attack your Face-Down, dear sister!"

"Not so fast!" Alyse pointed to Juggling Daggers. "I activate Juggling Dagger's usage! Goodbye, Jishin! When Jishin is sent to the Graveyard, he negates one attack to a Face-Down monster!"

"Ah, yes. Well, attack again, Vita! Clear Wisp!"

The Face-Down was revealed. It was a peacock. It's tail was wrapped around it and it was pure white, even the eyes.

"Jundo!"

"Yes, so you know what that means! All players draw five cards." They proceeded to draw. Jesse was in awe of her. She had a way around everything, it seemed. "If any players have Effect Monsters, they are sent to the Graveyard unless otherwise stated! If any monsters have an effect that states Battle does _not_ destroy the monster, we follow by those rules. Next, Judo switches to Attack Mode as my Dimes appear."

She placed two cards from the five she'd drawn on the Spell and Trap Zone. They were small orbs, only about the size of a dime. One was dark blue and the other was violent purple.

"Now, for another neat thing. Jundo goes to the Grave and your next two turns are skipped." Alyse smiled. "So make the most of this last turn."

"Tch, fine. Two cards Face-Down. Time to see what's up with your new cards."

"Aha, then I draw." Alyse drew a card and smiled at Jesse. "Here, this may help you. I play the Spell Card Dance of the People. With this Spell Card in play, I can automatically chose a card in my hand and send it to the Graveyard. Once there, I'm allowed to bring a Spell or Trap Card Monster to the field! So, I discard a Spell Card and I chose Ruby Carbuncle on Jesse's side of my field."

Jesse nodded. "Helps a lot. Now, I use Ruby's special ability to bring Emerald Tortoise, Sapphire Pegasus, and Amber Mammoth to the field!"

"Next, I destroy Jundo, the White in order to bring back my two Dimes due to Dance of the People's second effect. If I still have monsters in the Spell and Trap Zone, they can be turned into piercing damage if I destroy one monster in Attack Mode."

It dealt three-thousand points of damage.

"Jesse, your turn."

"Right." Jesse drew his card. He just placed two cards Face-Down. He kept looking sideways at Alyse.

Alyse and Juanita were locked in a staring contest, only broken by a blink or a look at their partners. They were taken back to the day Juanita finally achieved her "normal" personality.

---_flashback_---

"Alyse! You're such a failure! You're useless! Don't just sit there like a waste of space! Clean up the mess you made!"

Juanita quickly knelt down to help Alyse clean up the plate that had fallen off the table.

Mr. Jones' foot caught Juanita just under the ribs and threw her aside. "Don't help! You're already tired. Get to sleep!"

Alyse cut her hand and whimpered. She hadn't achieved the "perfection" Mr. Jones had been looking for. Now, she was like a servant for him, his wife, and Juanita. But Alyse and Juanita could do something amazing when they dueled each other. Together, they brought their duels to life. Alyse and Juanita had discovered that when they were still small.

Now, Juanita and Alyse kept their distance form dueling each other.

Alyse had to keep picking up the shards, but Mr. Jones brought his foot down and it slammed Alyse's already open wound to become deeper. It snapped a bone in her hand and she yelped and tried to pull her hand away.

"You're so useless! Can't you do anything right?!"

"Sweetie, you're yelling in front of Juanita," Mrs. Jones said, standing up. Her flower blue dinner dress ruffled as she went to her husband's side. She touched his black suite's sleeve. "Let her clean up and let's get Juanita to bed."

He didn't wait. He turned away, grinding Alyse's hand into the broken and sharp pieces of the plate. "Juanita, please, will you go to bed?" he asked, a sweeter voice coming off him.

"No! Get off Alyse! Stop hurting her!"

"You're going to defy me?!" he demanded. His hand shot out and grabbed Juanita's throat and started to squeeze. "I will not _tolerate_ any lip from you!" He began to squeeze harder and Juanita choked.

He was going to kill her.


	6. Chapter 5: A Promise To You

Alyse suddenly stood up and speared her "father" from behind. That caused him to release Juanita. "Don't hurt her!" she practically screamed. "Don't hurt Juanita! She didn't do anything!"

"How dare you touch your father in such a manner!" Mrs. Jones yelled. She grabbed Alyse's wrist and dragged the ten-year-old onto her tip-toes. "Don't you dare speak to your father like that, you little worm!" Her hand came up and down, several times, her gems cutting and cutting at Alyse's face and neck. Blood started to drip off Mrs. Jones' fingers.

Juanita didn't wait. She grabbed her deck in her deck box at her side. She drew a card and noticed who it was. "Lioness! Help me," she begged.

There was a soft thump nearby and Juanita looked up. Lioness was crouching there. Her yellow hair was starting to spike straight back. Her nailed hands dug into the dinning table. Her teeth were bared and her face was ugly and twisted. Her leather jerkins and jacket were torn in places that looked like painful wounds. Her roar stopped all noise.

"No! I didn't mean hurt them!" Juanita yelled as Lioness lunged forward. Instead of attacking, she snatched Alyse, unconscious, away from Mr. Jones. "Lioness."

"I heard you call me," she said simply. Her voice was warm and soft. "But mostly, I felt your heart want to protect someone. I see why."

"Don't hurt Alyse," Juanita said, a firm voice overcoming her. "I hate you, father, mother! You don't care about Alyse! But I do! Don't hurt her or I won't be your duelist."

"Why would you hate us? She's not related to you. We're treating her like she does us."

"She takes care of you! Have some mercy on her." Juanita reached over and touched Alyse's marred face. "I'm sorry, Alyse. Lioness, you can leave now." Juanita's smile was genuine, and her last genuine smile for a while.

'_Alyse, I'm sorry. I won't love a man until I know you're safe. But I'll despise them all because they must all be like father. I don't want to be a woman like mother. Nobody's going to make it easy to be together as sisters. For now, let's make the best of this time._' Juanita brushed away some of the bloody hair. She looked at it on her hands and realized it was almost the same color as her hair.

---_end_---

"Ah, poor, poor Juanita." Alyse smiled. '_I haven't forgotten our promise. That's why I'm upset about my bell. I _will_ find it, Juanita, and I _will_ keep my end of the promise. First, I need to prove I'm strong enough._'

Juanita just smiled and touched her bell. She knew what Alyse wanted to say, and she could easily relate. Alyse and her were defiant and always held onto promises that they knew they could always keep. Juanita's smile quickly turned to a frown as she grabbed her top card. "My draw, then."

Jim quickly hit the button to reveal his Face-Down. "I play the Spell Card Piping Organ! When I'm in a Tag-Duel and my partner is still in their Draw Phase, I'm allowed to draw as well. On my turn, when I do my Draw Phase, my partner can draw as well."

Juanita nodded and looked at the card in her hand. '_Crystal Belle. Alyse.... you snuck this card in! You cheeky devil._' Her eyes softened and she realized Alyse truly was sorry she'd misplaced her bell. '_Too bad for you, I won't use it. Not yet. It's not quite read yet, but I plan on making this a tie!_' "Alright! Here goes nothing, I suppose. I play this, the Spell Card L'Antica! This Field Spell allows any who wield a Dragon of Fossil-Type monster to enhance it's power! Five-hundred Attack and fifty Defense Points for my monsters. Since I've got L'Antica as a Field Spell, I'll use it to summon Morte!"

She threw down the menacing dragon and Jesse and Jim stared in awe at it. How beautiful and fierce it was.

"Sadly, I won't attack you this turn. You're up, Alyse, let's see if you've got any new tricks up your sleeve."

"Oh, that's going to be easy." Alyse drew her card and smiled at it. '_Black Crystal can easily wipe out any of your monsters. But it also destroys all my Continuous Spells. I can't have it like that, or Jesse would lose his Crystal Beasts. Or, I could throw it down and make you think it's my Trump Card!_' Alyse took a second card from her hand. "First, I'm playing the Equip Card Jousting Spear. If there are no monsters on the field when I play this card, I can automatically summon a monster from my Grave. I chose the Chesha!"

Sure enough, the violent purple dime shot out of her Graveyard and hit the ground, bounding straight up and making a "pop" sound. It was about as large as a small cat. It had bright purple cat ears and a bright pink tail. It's eyes were full on red with a dash of yellow to show the pupils. It stood on two legs and had a dark blue cloak and a small walking stick that was white wood.

"Chesha, the Wonderland, is now equipped with Jousting Spear, giving him a total of five-hundred Attack and twenty-three-thousand Defensive Points. Because of Chesha's special ability, I can stop the effect of one Spell Card on the field and destroy that card. But in order to do that, I surrender a thousand Life Points and three cards from my hand. Chesha!"

Jim cringed. Alyse was going to stop the Field Spell and destroy it!

Alyse threw her direction at Juggling Daggers. "Destroy my Juggling Daggers." Chesha did as he was told and quickly hopped back into place. "Now, I place one card Face-Down and end my turn. You're up, Jimmy-boy." She grinned.

Jim smiled awkwardly at her. He caught Juanita's eye, and she nodded her approval of him using his turn. They both drew a card. "I'm going to play this, Fossil Fusion. So, by exhuming Ancient from the Graveyard and Flint Cragger from the Grave as well, I can make a whole new monster. Say g'day to this little bloke." He gestured to his left and everyone looked as the monster emerged. "Ancient Flint. Because Ancient Flint is a Dragon-Fossil, I'm able to use the effects of L'Antica and instead of attacking twice, I can attack multiple targets at once. So, off you go, Ancient Flint!"

"No," Alyse said simply. "I play the Trap Card Black Crystal!"

"Jim, call off the attack!" Juanita yelled. "Don't attack her!"

"Too late. As soon as Chesha engages in battle, Black Crystal activates! By destroying all the monsters on our field, I can deal damage to both sides of the field equal to the combined strength of all the monsters! It's a grand total of thirty-thousand points!"

Jim shrugged. "Well, it was fun, actually."

No sooner had he said that, that a huge gust of wind burst up around Alyse and Juanita. It was spiral of dust and leaves that was lashing out at the other one.

Outside the funnels, it was louder than a jet engine. However....

"Juanita?" Alyse whispered.

Juanita just smiled her unusually warm smile. "I know. You'd better find it soon."

Alyse smiled. "I wish we didn't have these weird powers."

"Ah, well, makes us definable. Let's just forget it ever happened and go on living."

Together, they recited their promise on the day Juanita accidentally set Lioness lose and gave Mrs. Jones her heart attack.

"No matter what comes between us, we will stand strong and we won't show mercy or fear to the enemy."

Juanita and Alyse began to fall back, their bodies unable to stay awake any longer. Jesse dove for Alyse, managing just barely to scrape under her. Jim, having put Shirley down, was able to stand behind Juanita and catch her in his waiting arms. The two boys stared at the girls in their arms and, for the first time since they'd arrived, the two girls looked just as plain and just as peaceful as two, young children, just taking a nap in the afternoon sun.


	7. Chapter 6: The Bell to the Heart

There was something throbbing, pounding at the back of her eyes. It wasn't a dull throb, it was like someone was pounding the wrong end of a nil through her nose and passed her eyes. It was a pain she'd felt before....

---_flashback_---

"Worthless!"

His hand came down hard.

"Useless!"

Harder and faster.

"Pathetic!"

The pain shot up her nose and pretty much destroyed her sense of balance. A pain that stuck with her for....

---_end_---

"Juanita?"

She groaned and slowly lifted her arm. She pressed her thumb and index into her eyelids and rubbed. The throbbing died just a bit.

Slowly, one eye opened and she looked down. Just in time to see--

"SHIRLEY!" Jim quickly grabbed the crock when she landed on Juanita's stomach. He was able to get her off after ten seconds. He was standing at the left-hand corner of the bed, holding onto Shirley. When the crock stopped wriggling in his arms, he put her down and came to see if Juanita was hurt. "Hey, sorry, mate. You okay?"

Juanita rolled away from Jim and her eyes fell on Alyse and she sat up.

Fear gripped her at that moment.

Alyse was hooked up to oxygen, monitors, and something that looked like an IV. Juanita's weakness gave in and she got out of bed to walk up to Alyse's.

Her hand reached into Alyse's motionless one. Slowly, she gripped the fingers. "How long?" she asked Jim.

He got up and dusted off his backside. "Almost twelve hours. Mate, you don't have to worry."

Juanita ignored him. She quickly sat in the chair. "I won't worry until she opens her eyes. If she doesn't, then there's no way I'll be able to relax."

"Juanita?" Jim touched her shoulder. "She woke up for a short time just before you moved." Jim knelt beside the chair and smiled up at Juanita. "Besides, Jesse and I kept her company while they were working on you."

"What?!" Juanita pulled away.

"They thought something was wrong," Jesse commented from somewhere beyond Juanita's view. "They took both of you to get blood drawn and a scan of yer brain." Jesse appeared, his hands in his front pockets, and a slightly worried expression on his face. "Any who, they reckoned you'd be okay, but ya had a seizure."

"I know that much." Juanita took a metal tag out of her pocket and an identical one from her shirt. "Fontain must've known I had this. My records come with me."

"Not only that," Jim said, standing up. As he did, Juanita's eyes fell on Alyse. "Alyse, there, had a nasty convulsion about the same time. They think she's got a condition like yours."

"She doesn't." Juanita looked up at Jim.

"Well, we don't know, mate, sorry. Fontain wouldn't tell us anything." He held out a hand. "So, no worries, I don't plan on leaving, mate."

"I'm not leaving either." Jesse smiled brightly. "So, since you're awake, wanna duel?"

"Sure. It'll help." Juanita had just lied through her teeth. Alyse had a nasty condition. There was a small piece of her brain missing. That little piece was the reason she would convulse when Juanita did. But Alyse's connection was because she and Juanita had a bond that was "tougher than titanium and stronger than anything", as Alyse would have it.

---3 hours later---

Alyse's monitor's started to beep and Juanita whirled around.

Miss Fontain rushed over to see what was wrong. "Oh, shoot." She grabbed something off the table beside Alyse's bed and injected something into the IV drip. "C'mon, take it, please," she begged Alyse.

Juanita jumped off her bed and came to see if she could help. Since her "reawakening", she'd changed back into her slightly orange shirt. The vest and gloves were neatly placed on Jesse's old chair. Her boots and socks were neatly set near the foot of the bed.

"Do you know if Alyse takes any kind of medication?"

"No," Juanita said frantically. She wanted to help Alyse but....

"Oh, if only we could have her tell us what was wrong," Miss Fontain said, stepping back. Alyse's monitors stopped beeping. She was in the clear.

When she was out of sight, Juanita slowly sank into the chair beside Alyse. "If only you had your bell. I could dive into your heart. I'd know what was wrong if you had your bell. Sei così stupido. Mi fa preoccupare e tutti." She let her forehead fall onto Alyse's wrist. She looked sideways at Alyse. "Ah, well. I guess I'll never know what happened to it."

Jesse nudged Jim.

Jim had his hand over his right eye, where the bandages held his secret. He decided he'd see if Juanita would trust him enough to let him touch Alyse. "Juanita, maybe I can get into her heart."

Juanita's head popped up and she tucked the blond locks away from her face. Her eyes were slightly fogged from tears ready to fall. "What? But nobody has the power to get in there. How could you...." Her sentence trailed off.

"If you trust me enough, I'll show you." Jim waited. He was trying everything in his power to stop from talking his native tongue to her. He had to make it formal, or else he would certainly be in Alyse's place. He kind of pictured bruises and scrapes and a broken jaw.

Juanita stood up, making a fist. She grabbed the front of Jim's shirt. "You better not be messing with me!" Juanita's chair hit the floor as she came closer. Jim, on the other hand, had his hands up in surrender. Despite the tough exterior, there it was; a gentle spirit who just wanted to help the pure spirit of her sister.

"Hey, hey! No fightin', please!" Jesse said, quickly trying to intervene.

"You're lying! There's no way for someone to be able to. Nobody knows the way into someone's heart! If they knew that, then why not know your true love?! There's no way to get into Alyse's heart without her bell! I'm the only one who can--!"

Jim covered her mouth and looked behind Juanita at Alyse. His expression became soft and kind. "I don't lie to my mates." He gently touched Juanita's hand and, after a few seconds of contact, her hand released his shirt. "I'll show you first."

He reached up and the bandages slipped away, falling around his neck and staying there.

Juanita was surprised, but not scared.

"Most people fear me because of this eye. I lost my eye to help my girl Shirley," he said, gesturing to Shirley, asleep on the floor, her legs outstretched in all directions. "It has a unique ability to see into people's hearts, so long as they're unconscious. It won't hurt her, I swear."

Juanita slapped him. The sound echoed around the room. Jim staggered back and Jesse cringed.

"Don't swear! It's rude."

Jesse had to double over to stop from laughing out loud. Jim had a smile on before he moved around to the other side of Alyse.

"Just do it. I want to know." Juanita took Alyse's hand in both of her's. "But I'll kill you good if she starts crying."

Jim wouldn't've expected anything less. He closed his normal eye and his Orichalcum eye started to focus. Jim was prepared for nearly everything.

Nearly.

* * *

p3n-stroke: BWAHAHA! see how evil I am!  
Alyse: wah, i gots none screen time....  
Juanita: SCORE ONE FOR THE TOUGH GIRL!  
p3n-stroke: ah, well, not a Mary-Sue  
Jim: *love-struck*


	8. Chapter 7: Room of the Heart

Jim tenderly tread in the darkness for a while. He knew that each heart was different, that nobody was the same.

He found a doorway. It wasn't a familiar one and he tried the handle. As his hand passed through the knob, the door slowly swung towards him.

There was a room. It was made of pure white marble with cracks of a soft, powder blue color. The pillars that held the lofty ceiling high were pure white with streaks of black running along each path. There was a gurgling fountain made of marble that was powder blue, mostly. A dark, wooden chair stood by something like a glass-less window pane. There wasn't any other piece of furniture. The room was bare, other than the dark chair.

Jim took one step forward and felt part of his foot miss a ledge. He stepped back and looked down. The floor looked solid. He knelt down and put his hand on the floor. He felt warmth, rather than the cold marble. Tenderly, he inched his hand forward. He felt a ledge and realized that some of the floor wasn't real.

"Hello?"

There was no reply. Jim decided this was another dead end and backed out of the room.

In the black hallway, he heard a little girl laughing some distance away. He followed the sound, but it stayed far away. He finally heard it fade. He stopped running and started looking at every door he passed. A door caught his eye.

Every door he'd passed on was white wood. This one was a rich oak.

He reached for the knob and pushed down. The brass handle gave and the door clicked, opening to his push.

This wasn't white, like the other rooms. It was dark blue with streaks of purple here and dashes of pink there and splatters of yellow all over the place. The floor was dark oak that was so highly polished, he could see his reflection. Hanging on the wall opposite him was a portrait of two girls. One was about thirteen and another was about ten. They wore dresses similar to rich-class girls. Both had curled hair. One was a red-head and the other had black hair.

The frame was stainless steel.

All over the walls were posters and pictures and things like that. It was a magnificent mural of every kind of color.

A rug on the floor etched itself out to be mostly dark blue, like the ceiling, and had a purple line around the outside. Each corner was neon pink. From each corner shot a beam of yellow that faded before it reached the center of the square thing. There was a deck of duel cards lying near the center beside a Duel Disk.

Jim looked up, just then. The girls' laughter was coming from the portrait.

"Who are you?" came a weary voice.

Jim wheeled around. There, against one wall, was a magnificently set mirror. It was highly polished and the wood that held it seemed to blend with the rich floors. The oak was highly sculpted as well. But it wasn't the mirror's glossy frame that made him stare.

A girl about to his knees obscured his shins from the mirror's perspective. But there wasn't anyone right in front of him.

"I'm Jim Cook, mate." He touched the brim of his hat.

The girl stared at him with a stare that could've shot down Axel in a heartbeat. "No, you're not."

Jim sighed and approached the mirror. "My full name's James Crocodile Cook, miss."

"Oh." She watched him come closer and crouched down. Her hand came forward and _out_ of the mirror.

It wasn't a child's hand that touched Jim's ankle and he stopped dead. It was Alyse's arm coming out of the mirror.

"Go away." Her voice was coming from everywhere. "atchi e ike. watashi no kokoro ni kaibutsu shi taku nai. watashi no kawaii imōto shi masu."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Suddenly, her voice became deep and it seemed to vibrate right through Jim.

"Go away! I don't want a monster in my heart! I want my sister! Where is she?! What have you done to her?!"

Jim felt the hand on his ankle grip hard. Fear gripped him in that moment and then he heard it. Somehow, he heard it over the rumbling voice.

A soft tinkle.

Like a mythical bell.

Jim, simultaneously hearing the noise and seeing the little girl on the wall with her sister, reached towards the deck on the floor. A card from the middle of the deck flew out and into his waiting hand. He flipped it over and quickly announced it. Maybe it would help.

"Gemini, the Zodiac."

The hand released him and the mirror turned to dust.

The room became much more lit. The air in the room wasn't so stuffy, though Jim didn't notice until just then.

Alyse was standing in the middle of the room, staring down. "Did Juanita send you?" she asked airily, like it wasn't a big deal.

"Yes. She wanted to know what's wrong." Jim stood his ground. He didn't want to approach her, for fear he'd go back to that room with the booming voice and the crazy mirror.

"Oh." Alyse knelt down and picked at the carpet. She finally looked up. "Tell Juanita I'm upset. That I don't want to go back. I don't see a point. Nobody's gonna miss one person."

Jim sighed and sat across from Alyse, Indian-style. "Really? Juanita's gonna miss you."

"No, besides her. If one of us dies, we join with the other. It's a law."

"By whom?"

Alyse didn't answer. She just picked at the carpet some more.

"Look," Jim dug into his pocket and drew out a bell. "I found it while I was bringing you and her back to Miss Fontain."

Alyse shook her head. "No good. No good. īe yoi. yakunitata nai. haiki butsu no kūkan desu." Alyse started pulling a thread on the carpet.

"No, you're not." Jim didn't quite know what Alyse was saying, but he understood her body language. He reached out and took her hand away from the thread. "Here. Take it. Maybe it'll help. I'll tell Juanita. I swear."

Alyse suddenly gasped and covered her mouth. "No! Don't swear!"

"Why?"

"Juanita...." Alyse looked at her bell and then smiled. "Juanita will send you to push up daisies if you swear. She doesn't like people swearing on their lives or something. She thinks it's useless." Alyse suddenly covered her mouth. "You're not useless! I promise! You're not--!"

"I know. Do you know you're not worthless?"

Jim left her with that thought.

---outside---

Jim reeled back and had to grab the rail to the bed. He slowly put his head down and tried to breath. He had to catch his breath. It wasn't easy.

"Jim!" Juanita's hand touched his back and he felt the moisture.

"Juanita," Jim replied, finding the strength to walk to a chair just five paces away. He sank into the chair and took his hat off. He leaned on his knees and kept breathing. It was hard, but he was getting closer to normal breathing.

"Jim, are you okay?" Juanita asked, touching his wrist. Her fingers were soft, smooth, almost angelic as they slowly traced a line up his arm and to his face. "Hey, are you okay?"

Jim reached into his right, front pocket. There it was. He drew out the bell and held it above his head and towards Juanita. "Here. I just remembered I had that, mate."

"Ah! You found it. How long have you had it?"

"I don't know." Jim looked up, his face dripping sweat. "But she thinks she's useless. I don't know how to make her believe otherwise."

"Let me try, James Cook," Juanita said, crossing her arms. "I don't want you to up and die already. Besides, despite us speaking two totally different languages, we've learned to speak properly to each other." She swept a bow. "Thank you, Jim. Thank you for opening a channel for me to follow."

"Juanita?"

She stopped turning away and looked down at him.

"You don't have to thank me. I just wanted to be able to make a difference to you."

Juanita smiled then. Her rare, true, loving smile. "You did when you did back down from my slap. Nobody ever backed down from me except Alyse. To earn my trust, you have to see me at my worst. Sadly, you haven't, but you've scratched the surface of a deep well. Keep digging, Jim. Forse troverete il mio cuore." She placed the bell in Alyse's hand and took her own from her pocket, holding it in the same hand. "I'll be back."

Jim watched her body become rigid.

"Jim?"

He had almost forgotten about Jesse and looked around. "Yeah?"

Jesse was leaning on the wall. "You're so special. I've not nothin' on you. I think Alyse'll be impressed with you. Maybe you'd take her, 'nstead of me."

"No. I've got my eyes on one already, mate." Jim smirked.

"Ah, well, then I'll be takin' Alyse." Jesse came over and stood beside Jim, who was covering his odd eye. "I think she's real into ya, too."

"What?"

Jesse just smiled and pointed at Juanita. "Besides, it ain't like she's got eyes for nobody else, right?" He nudged Jim's arm before going to stand by the monitors.

Jim agreed and watched.

Juanita came out of her trance after about five minutes and slowly moved away from Alyse. She stood beside Jim's chair. "Jim?"

"Yeah?"

Juanita didn't really say anything, she knelt down and pulled Jim right in. Her lips met his and she let go. She rested her chin on his arm and waited for a reaction. When he gawked at her, she just shrugged. "I thought you'd like that."

"Hold still."

Jesse smiled as he watched them go head-first into a kiss. Alyse's hand came up and touched his. It was a gentle, almost silent touch, but the two of them were happy, while Juanita and Jim were _absolutely in love_ happy.

* * *

Juanita: aw, that's it?  
p3n-stroke: no....  
Jim: YES!  
Juanita: now what?  
p3n-stroke: now, for the fun part!!!  
Jim/Juanita: o.o what?!


	9. Chapter 8: Friends From Afar

p3n-stroke: GAH!  
Juanita: *choke hold on the author*  
Alyse: is this because you think she's done?  
Juanita: YOU BETTER NOT BE DONE!  
p3n-stroke: *taps out* no! i've got more *evil smile*

* * *

"You sure this is it?"

"Well, he said land, find the biggest building with a dome top."

"Well, duh! I know that...."

"Don't start a fight here."

"STAY OUT OF THIS!"

He shrugged and pulled his hair away from his face as the helicopter took off. Four people now stood on the landing pad.

One was much different than the others. He had jet black eyes, chin-length, fire red hair that was spiked back and faded to blue on the ends. His cloths were simple, sort of. He had a white, button-down shirt that the top three buttons were undone. His jeans were tight fitting and hid the tops of his boots. He wore his Duel Disk on his arm, which was black and white, like the rest of him. He had two piercings over his right eye and one hoop in his ear, gold.

The trio that stood away from him were all black-haired, all wore stranger cloths, and all had a case holding their Duel Disks. The only girl was also the shortest. The only reason she looked like a girl was because she had long hair.

She and one of the boys had black, black, _black_ hair and deep, rich forest green. They both had earrings, only the girl had more than the boy. That was where the similarities ended.

The two boys wore black jeans that were loose. The slightly taller one wore a purple button-down shirt with the top button undone so the collar was lose about his neck. His pitch black, lacquer hat shone in the sun as he tipped it back. His forest eyes clashed with the purple nicely. The other, slightly smaller boy wore something similar, only his button-down shirt had four buttons off and was firey red and was oddly clashing with his deep blue eyes.

"Hey, you."

The other guy, the red-head, looked over his shoulder at them. He'd started walking.

"Do you know where to go, mate?"

A smile cracked the red-head's face. "Oh, yeah. I got specific instructions. Besides, Juanita said that it's a surprise. If you want to be lost, go that way. I'm going this way."

The trio followed him.

---Jim---

He was sprawled out on the lawn. It was nice and soft, kind of like back at his house's backyard. The grass was soft and felt nice against his skin. Whatever it was, he liked this grass.

He suddenly felt someone knock the sun away from his face and he opened his eyes.

Juanita was staring down at him. "Hi."

He sat up and smiled at her.

Since he'd managed to save her sister from "total disaster", Juanita was a little nicer. She still stepped on Jim's knee twice since then because he made a comment she didn't like. But she had yet to punch him or do anything "drastic" towards him.

"Is she doing better?"

"Just as normal as ever." Juanita leaned on the tree and closed her eyes, her arms crossed, letting a breeze sweep her hair around. "Whatever happens now, I swore I wouldn't leave her side until we're both at our goals."

Jim agreed. He was staring out, across the grove and saw Jaden playing with Syrus and Hasselberry. Jesse was missing because he spent every waking moment with Alyse in Fontain's hospital ward.

He suddenly noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and was about to look when he felt someone collide with him.

His hat went flying and he tumbled a few feet with the person, going foot over head. He finally slid to a halt and looked down.

"GAH! You!"

She smiled brightly at him. "G'day, Jim!"

He jumped up and she fell off, rolling away. "When did...?"

"Did you honestly think that just because you won the chance didn't mean we'd save up and visit?"

Juanita looked at Jim with narrowed eyes.

A red-head came sprinting out of nowhere and pretty much attached himself to Juanita's side and she collapsed.

There was a pause and she stood up, holding the boy's collar and raising her fist. An evil, vile aura was coming off her. "You better have a good reason for that, James Wood," she said in a menacing voice.

"Ah, same as always, Juanita."

She socked him so hard he was actually lifted off the ground and the tree behind him cracked. "Stuff it, you over-grown ham."

"Ow! Couldn't be gentle, could--?"

He never finished.

Juanita spun about and her foot came in contact with his nose. There was a soft "crunch" and he collapsed to all fours, blood dripping between his fingers. "Dire che ancora una volta, è troppo cresciuto, vecchio, disfunzionale sacco di ossa!"

The three black-haired kids and Jim gawked as she beat the living tar out of James Wood.

Jim turned his attention to the trio standing near Shirley. "What brought about this?"

"She called us up." The girl pointed at Juanita. "She said she thinks you need a 'pick-me-up', mate. We didn't realize you'd become so homesick."

"Lisa, Aaron, Justin, you guys really didn't have to waste your money on me," Jim said, his tone clearly saying he didn't want them to go out of their way.

"Hey, we're graduating," said Aaron, tugging his red sleeves. "Besides, your dad sent us. He wants you to get a taste of home again."

"Taste of...." Jim felt a sting in his eye. He did miss Australia. He quickly composed himself and crossed his arms. "So, what's with the sneak attack, mate? You could've seriously hurt me."

Lisa flinched. She couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "I'm sorry! I just thought it was.... you know, not a sneak attack."

Jim gave her the coldest glare he could manage before he cracked a smile. "Would've dodged, mate, if you hadn't come from the right." He touched his bandaged eye.

"ACK! Sorry! Sorry! I.... she's cute."

Juanita had come over to see who the trio was.

Jim put his hand on the back of Lisa's head and gave her a push. She stumbled forward and almost lost her balance. "Gross."

"What? She's not.... ugly. She's awesome!"

Juanita was now looking at Lisa curiously. "Why is she hugging me?"

Jim shrugged. "Maybe she thinks you're cuddly."

Juanita bopped Lisa on the head. "No, I'm not a teddy bear."

Lisa pointed at Juanita and mouthed; "is she the one who speaks Italian?" Jim gave her a knowing look. Quickly, Lisa put her hand out in greeting and smiled. "Saluti, amico."

Juanita was surprised, but greeted the girl all the same. "You a friend of Jim's?"

"Not exactly 'old-time friend', but yeah." Lisa gently tugged Juanita's shoulder down a bit. "He's cute, though. But I kinda turned him off of me. I upset his 'sister' and she snapped at me, so, he doesn't want me to be _that_ kind of friend."

Juanita nodded. "Why don't I show you guys to the rooms I requested for you."

The group of four followed her and Jim smiled at Shirley. "This is turning out to be an interesting day."

* * *

Jim: YES! they're here.  
Juanita: *glaring at Lisa* mine *attaches to jim*  
p3n-stroke: *sigh* don't attack just yet


	10. Chapter 9: You're Invited

p3n-stroke: i see you're popular with the readers....  
Juanita: o.o?  
Alyse: i'm not one for the camera....  
Juanita: =__= *stressmark*  
P3n-stroke: MOVING ON!

* * *

Juanita punted a paper ball at Justin, who was setting up a disc-jockey turn table on a stage. He glared down at her. "Hurry up! I don't know when Jim's gonna be done."

"Whatever, red. I'm working as fast and safely as possible."

"Right, saggy-pants. I'll just wait until you're done. It's tonight, after all."

"Yeah, yeah.... hey! Wait! How many times do I have to tell you?! My name is Justin! Not 'saggy-pants', red!"

"Whatever, saggy-pants. Just get your butt in gear or I'll kick it into gear for you."

Justin glared again and continued working.

Juanita started walking out.

"You're an old lady with sucky fashion sense and stupid taste in friends!"

She grabbed the metal trash bin that looked about fifty pounds and threw it right at Justin, who was too shocked to move. It barely missed him, whizzing passed and denting slightly on the wall behind him. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you. Sorry."

"Nothing. I was mumbling something to myself."

---Jim---

He smiled at Alyse. She was doing some balance tests to make sure she was fit to be on her own. Jim had agreed to keep an eye on her, since Jesse had taken a liking to some of the classes at the academy and Juanita was off doing something else.

Alyse kept gawking at Jim.

"Alright, Alyse. It looks like you can do some things by yourself, however, you won't be able to run or walk on curbs for a while." Miss Fontain smiled. "But I do see you trying hard, so, just be safe." She handed Alyse over to Jim before she had to rush off to take a look at someone else, who seemed to be having a fever.

Alyse stared up at Jim. She was shorter than him, by much more than Jim had expected. "Now what?" she asked.

"Well, I guess we'll find your sister, mate."

"No need." Juanita was walking towards them. "You're free?"

"Freedom!" Alyse yelled and smiled. She put her arms out and Juanita gave her a quick hug before looking at Jim.

"You free?"

"When?"

"Tonight. I have a surprise for you."

Jim shrugged. "I've got nothing big to do." He suddenly looked at her curiously. "Why?"

Juanita shrugged. "Here. When you get the chance, read this. Preferably today."

Alyse watched Jim and then grabbed Juanita's sleeve. "I want to eat ice cream. Do they have any in the Obelisk dormitory?"

"Vi benedica! Come cavolo si può pensare di alimentare così facilmente?!"

Alyse smiled at Juanita. "watashi wa amai mono ga ari masu."

"If you say so." Juanita gave Jim a nod before leaving.

Jim looked down and noticed it was an invitation to the gym, where there was a surprise for him. He glanced at the time and decided that gave him enough time to take a nap. He sighed and looked at the back of the paper. Whatever there was, it was all on the front page. It was kind of mysterious and Jim decided he was going.

Just to see what it was....

---Alyse---

She was standing behind Jesse as he sat on the cliff behind Slifer dorms. He knew she was standing there.

"What're you tryin' ta say, exactly?" Jesse asked, looking back at her.

Alyse smiled and her hands clasped behind her and she skipped forward a step. "It's a party for Jim. Wanna come?"

"No." Jesse looked back across the ocean.

"Aw! Why not?"

"Because I'm not a party person," Jesse said, kindly.

"Well, can I stay with you, then?"

Jesse didn't turn around. There was a long pause as the waves shattered along the wall of dirt. Alyse was about to turn to leave, when Jesse spoke up. "Fine, I'll see if I can make it to yer party thingy. I'm not gonna guarantee anything, though." Jesse kept his face turned towards the ocean.

Alyse smiled and hopped off.

Jesse's words made her feel better.

'_That wasn't so bad. Maybe I can get him to come along for the whole night!_'


	11. Chapter 10: Turning to Sisters?

p3n-stroke: one moment, readers....  
Juanita: *has a hammer and is destroying computer*  
p3n-stroke: it seems my computer keeps deleting this chapter.... Juanita's not happy....  
Jim: o//o still cute..........  
Alyse: XD  
Juanita: PIECE OF TRASH! GET YER BUTT IN GEAR OR I'LL DO IT FOR YA!  
Jim: -///-

* * *

Jim was a bit late, but Alyse was still waiting for him outside. When he came around the corner, she jumped off the wall.

Her dress had spaghetti straps and was a nice, light green color. The end came just up to her knees. She wore no shoes and her hair was let lose and a bit tangled.

"G'day," he mumbled. He was still off in another world, but kind of knew what was going on.

"Hiya! C'mon, Juanita's waiting for you." She took Jim's arm and tugged. It was like a little child leading a full-blown adult. Their heights didn't help any either.

Jim sighed and let her lead him into the room and had to stop and do a double-take.

Juanita was standing by the door. Her normally lose hair was styled nicely. Her normal "drag" was replaced by a very nice, red dress. The backing was just about to the bottom of her rib cage and had intricate strings wrapping around. The front came down just far enough to reveal some of her skin. The end of the dress was flared and gave her legs a nice look. She was also barefoot, but holding a pair of red heels. She scratched her head when Jim stared at her.

"You're...."

"I'm a girl, yes."

Alyse giggled and let Jim go.

His eyes wandered over the dress a couple of times. He wasn't sure if it was really a dress or he was dreaming.

"What? Girls wear dresses, right? So, I thought I'd put mine to use before I outgrow it."

Jim had to look away and he covered his nose and mouth. That dress.... she would "outgrow" that dress? Jim's mind pitched into the gutter.

Alyse held out a handkerchief. "It's okay. A lot of people do that around Juanita."

"Is he bleeding?" she asked.

"Yes," Alyse answered. She patted Jim's shoulder. "Besides, you'll do fine. She's not asking you to be her punching bag."

Juanita sighed and put her shoes on. "Come here, will you?"

Jim obeyed, unable to do anything against Juanita's power. Actually, he didn't _want_ to do anything else.

Juanita took off the orange scarf around his neck. She unlatched Shirley so she could roam free. But Juanita's hand brushed against Jim's neck and he shivered. They were a bit cold on his neck, but Juanita ignored it. She reached around and pulled his shirt so it wasn't tucked in anymore. "Now, come with me. I've got a surprise." She covered his exposed eye and lead him away.

Alyse was running ahead of them. She opened the doors to the gym and everyone found places to hide. Alyse was by the light switch. Jim stepped in and opened his eye. At first it was dark, until Alyse got the signal and the lights flared on.

Justin was the closest and surprised Jim. The twins threw confetti from the bleachers. Jaden and his friends were all surrounding the outside ledge of the gym.

Juanita looked at Jim's face and smiled. She'd wanted him to feel welcome and happy. She'd gotten her wish.

Alyse just smiled and watched them start playing music. Jim and Juanita blended in, but Alyse didn't. She stood along the wall, sadness setting in. Jesse had called at the last second and said he didn't want to come. She kicked the wall and got on her sneakers. She was going to find him.

---Jesse---

He rolled over and spread out again. The grass had been too pokey, the gravel had been to hard, but the sand was nice.

He heard the ocean rolling away at the beach. It was soothing. Until--

CRACK!

He sat up and looked over his shoulder. Alyse had jumped through a tangle of vines and branches. She was sitting there, licking her wounded hand. There were tears in Alyse's eyes.

Jesse resisted the urge to go and help her. "What're ya'll doin' here?"

"I, ow!" Alyse stopped and got up. She looked so strange. Her hair was slightly tangled, her dress was simple and cute, and she was wearing sneakers with no socks. "I wanted to see you. Why didn't you want to come?"

Jesse shrugged. He looked back at the ocean. "I told you, I'm not exactly a party person."

Alyse sighed and came over to sit with him. Jesse could see she was hurt, but she ignored her wounded hands and looked at him. "Do you like being alone?"

"I'm not 'alone', per say." Jesse sighed and saw Ruby come running up to him. She was done playing with the water. "Just dun like parties all 'n much."

Alyse sighed again and looked out at the ocean. "Well, least I won't have to worry then. You've got someone who's probably waiting for you. She's so lucky," Alys said, getting up.

Jesse's eyes widened and his heart sank. Was that it? Had he just totally blown his chance? Without much thought, he got up and grabbed her wrist. "No, wait! Um, how long is the party going to last?"

"As long as I have fun, mate."

The duo turned.

Juanita was standing just behind Jim, who was smiling at them through the hole Alyse had made.

Suddenly--

"You son of a gun! What did you say to Alyse?! Why is she crying?!" Juanita was strangling Jesse, holding him off the ground. Her "I hate men" attitude had come back. She started shaking him. "You better have a good reason for hurting my sister! What did you say, huh?! You trying to make her hurt?! Don't you know she wanted you there?! Are you so dense you can't tell?!"

"Juanita! Juanita!" Alyse touched her sister's arm. "It's okay, really. He doesn't want to go. Let him go, please...." She gave Juanita her best puppy-dog-eyes and Juanita dropped the blue-haired boy.

She hugged her sister. "Okay, Alyse, if that's what you want. C'mon, they're going to start the party if you don't hurry."

Alyse nodded. She gave Jesse a little pat on the head. "Sorry, my sister doesn't like me crying."

"Would that explain her hating men?"

"Erm, kind of." Alyse smiled.

Jim shook his head and held a hand out to Jesse. "C'mon, mate. You've got to at least come and see what's there. You can leave after that, mate."

Jesse nodded. No harm in trying, right?

---Juanita---

She pushed Justin, with feeling, towards Alexis. "Just ask her already.... don't dilly-dally."

Jim was playing with Alyse out in the hall, because Jesse still hadn't shown up and he'd gotten worried. Juanita had a sneaking suspicion Alyse was becoming like Shirley to him; a sister in arms, as it were. Alyse, on the other hand, was treating Jim more like Juanita. Respect and humor.

Jim poked his head in. "Juanita, c'mere."

She followed him out and stopped.

Alyse was sleeping on the floor and Shirley was tucked under one arm and guarding her protectively.

Juanita looked at Jim. "Is it possible that...?"

"I think so, mate. It looks like your sister and mine are one and the same."

Juanita smiled, for the first time, because she was thoroughly pleased. Of course, in the spur of the moment, she kissed Jim's cheek before kneeling beside Alyse and Shirley. "Prendermi cura di mia cara sorella, Shirley."

Shirley seemed to agree and snuggled closer to Alyse.

Juanita noticed Jim was kind of rigid. "You okay?" Then she realized her red lip gloss had imprinted a kiss on his face and she covered her mouth. "Jim! I'm so sorry! I wasn't.... I didn't think I'd do that!" She quickly reached out to wipe it away.

Jim grabbed her wrist. "No, it's okay." He smiled warmly at her. "I kind of enjoy that. Do it again?"

Juanita tipped her head to one side. "Again? But why would a girl like me be interesting to a boy like you?"

Jim's face changed colors and he shook his head. "Not 'interesting', Juanita. You're intoxicating most of the time."

Alyse made a noise and they both looked down.

"She's the reason I can't get close." Jim sighed and let go of Juanita. "I'm afraid that if she doesn't like me, neither would you." He brushed Alyse's hair away from her face. "She's your whole world right now. Where would I fit in? Where _could_ I fit in?"

Juanita suddenly gave a short laugh. "Do you know that Shirley is the same? I don't know if I'm allowed near you because she's snapped at me a good few times."

Jim smiled. "Shirley doesn't snap for no reason. If she growls and then snaps, back off."

"No, she just snaps." Juanita knelt beside Alyse and Shirley.

"Then she wants to show you something, mate." Jim touched Juanita's hand. "Here." He put her hand on the crown of Shirley's head. "Pet her. She likes it."

Juanita started to rub Shirley's head. The croc moved and Alyse made another noise. Everyone stopped and then sighed and Alyse remained asleep.

"It's amazing," Jim commented.

Juanita blinked and looked up. "What is?"

"You're nothing like Lisa."

Juanita narrowed her eyes. "Oh?"

"You see, Lisa was never really concerned about Shirley. She pretended to be. You seem to think very highly of her, mate. I wonder, do you really like Shirley?"

Juanita's face changed colors. "Well, that depends." She put her hand on Alyse's head. "What makes it easy?"

There was a pause. It was only broken by the dull thud of the music on the other side of the wall. Until they heard....

"Piano?" Jim asked, looking at the wall as if he could see right through it.

Juanita recognized the tune and looked down at Alyse.

'_If I could catch a rain drop, I would show you how it gleams, Before I let it drop. I'll show you all my dreams, Just don't let me go._

'_Make this your statement, Tell them you're hell-bent, Show them your smile, For the millionth mile, Show them it's now or never, And make this your statement of forever._'

"Alyse! You let them play that song...."

"Is that you singing?" Jim asked.

Juanita dropped her head. "No, it's Alyse. When she sings, she sounds like me."

"She can sing?"

"Not a great amount. She's too shy. But I came up with the music to it. She wrote the words."

"Well, ain't that somethin'," came a voice from behind.

Juanita turned and looked up a bit.

Jesse waved. His smile was bright and warm. "Mind if I sit with her?"

"No." Juanita smiled at Jim. "C'mon, you have to hear the rest of the song! Alyse knows her words well."

* * *

**A/N:** i wrote a song called "Statement of Forever or Never" and that's kinda what the title came from. the reason is this; the singer of the song has a dear one that they love, but life and family seem to be in the way. so, they write a statement to their dear one. i'll write out the whole lyrics in the next/last chapter.... whichever i decide upon.... -p3n-stroke


	12. Chapter 11: Fireworks and Kisses

---Alyse---

She stirred and opened her eyes. It was still night. There was something rough under one of her hands and something soft under the other.

She sat up and looked down. Jesse was talking to Shirley.

"J-Jesse!"

He sat up too. "Hey. I changed my mind."

Jesse was currently missing his vest and he wasn't wearing boots, just regular sneakers.

Alyse was about to say something when she noticed Jim and Juanita go back into the gym.

'_I'm going to take you away, So far away, That nobody will know, Because I'll never let it show._'

Alyse gasped and covered her mouth.

Jesse smiled and touched her shoulder. "It's a cute voice."

Alyse's face could've fried an egg, if you cracked one over her black hair.

'_Without a doubt, I'll show you that truth will out, Because you and her can be a pair, A brother and sister as fair._'

Jesse scooted closer and put an arm around Alyse. "I'm sorry. I've just been unsure if there's a place for me. Is there?"

Alyse nodded. "Right here." She put her hand on his chest. "There's room for you."

---Juanita---

She was standing beside Jim. He suddenly took her hand. "Wha--?"

Jim lead her to the dance floor. He was determined to dance with her....

Juanita felt his hand touch her back. She smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. Alyse had made sure this was a slower song. She had wanted Juanita to dance with someone to this song so as to make it special.

'_I want you to be here, Close and sincere, Because I want to write a statement to you, Because no matter what, I love you._'

Jim's lips touched her forehead. Juanita closed her eyes. It was kind of like drifting on clouds. She felt lighter than air and heavier than stone. It was butterflies, as Alyse had always said, because they couldn't decided if they wanted up or down.

Juanita heard the ending line and her eyes flared open.

'_I want all you are, To love all I am, If I'm a shining star, Or a weak little lamb. Because all I am, Is a woman, Someone who needs to be a hero, And someone who wants to be a zero. Tell me you love me, And I'll make this statement forever, Say that you'll never leave me, And we can write out forever together._'

Juanita smiled and looked up at Jim. '_How true you are, Alyse, how true you are._'

Jim seemed to be caught in the moment and put one hand on Juanita's face, his other still around her waist. He pulled her closer and....

There was a whistle and then applause and more whistling.

Jim dipped Juanita and held her in his arms. She didn't punch, slap, or kick him. She just held him close and closed her eyes.

---Alyse---

She happily smiled and looked at Jesse, who was still holding her hand. The two of them had managed to drag Shirley into the room. The two sisters ran to their respective siblings.

Juanita scooped up Alyse in a hug as Jim knelt down to pick up Shirley. He looked at Juanita and Alyse as he held onto Shirley. Juanita returned the stare and Alyse smiled at Jim. She had no ill will towards the man. She just had admiration and respect for being able to tame Juanita's anger as good as he had.

Justin broke the moment, however, and he and James grabbed Alyse and Shirley away.

James was holding Alyse like a kidnapper would and Justin was dragging Shirley by the tail. Alyse knew what they were doing, but still didn't like it.

"Lemme go! Stop it! Lemme go! Juanita!" She was reaching out to her sister.

Shirley was a bit stunned from what was happening and Justin got her out into the hallway again.

Jim and Juanita followed only to be greeted by fireworks. Alyse was put down and ran to Jesse, hiding behind him.

James gave a little nod of approval at the scene. Alyse had always wanted a hero, and Jesse was a hero to her. Juanita always wanted to be a heroin, even if it cost her everything. Jim just wanted someone to show him the better things in life. Juanita was with Jim, that much was obvious, and Jesse had obviously taken Alyse.

It was pretty much okay. Except for....

Alyse ran over and hugged Shirley. "C'mon! Sit with us."

Jim gawked and Juanita looked worried. Jesse just smiled and scooped up Shirley's tail as Alyse picked up her front legs. They plopped her down beside Jim before sitting on her other side and enjoying the fireworks.

Jim shrugged at Juanita. "No point trying to explain away that one," he said.

"Mm."

Alyse knew that it was almost time for these two to see her and Juanita's tag-team. Because she could see a fire in Justin's eyes, as well as Lisa's. They weren't satisfied that Juanita was good enough for Jim. They wanted to be absolutely sure.

But for now, it was enough to just enjoy the fireworks and the nice warm air coming through the open windows.


	13. Chapter 12: Duel for Change Prt1

Alyse was standing there, watching Shirley and Jim swim in the pool outside. She was near the edge of the water. She desperately wanted to learn to swim, but Juanita had told her she'd almost drowned twice now. She sat down and stuck her hand in the water instead.

Jim saw her and swam over. He smiled up at her. "You know, for the sister of Juanita, you're quite sweet, mate."

She smiled brightly. "Thank you. Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." Jim called Shirley over with a motion of his hand.

"What do you like about Juanita compared to Lisa?"

Jim hovered for a moment, unsure how to answer that one. Finally, he turned to Alyse. "Your sister can't be a bad person, right? Well, I can see who she is on the inside. I can see who you are on the inside, Alyse. I can see a heart that has good intentions. I see the inner-most rooms of the heart."

"What's that mean?" Alyse asked, petting Shirley's head.

"Well, I can see yours, for example. You love duelists and often times you have images of them. They become a part of you, mate. I find that you've got only one window, Alyse. You want someone to show you a winder view. You have odd colors, meaning you've not got much to offer just yet. Alyse, you're a bud waiting to bloom." Jim patted her knee before pulling himself out of the water. His dark brown jeans looked black now, but, he didn't care. He called Shirley closer and pulled her out. "Your sister is something else entirely."

"Do you like her?"

"Like isn't the word I would use, mate." Jim set Shirley on the edge of the pool and went to sit on one of the bleachers. "I'd say like is to weak a word."

Alyse felt horror. Did that mean Jim hated Juanita?!

"You see, to say 'like' would mean that I don't have much taste for her, mate. I would saw 'love' is more the word. If that was the case, then yes, I'd have to say I do love her." He smiled as he used a towel to dry his hair and jeans. The bandages on his eye slipped.

Alyse didn't make any motion that she was scared, but walked over and picked up the soggy bandages. She looked at Jim's eye curiously. "What's that?"

"Ah, well, something you shouldn't've seen." Jim gave her a small smile.

Alyse shrugged and started tying the bandages around Jim's head. She made sure they were secure behind his ear before coming back around the front. "I like you. You'd make Juanita really happy."

Jim smiled. "Shouldn't you be with Jesse?"

"He's in class right now. I don't have anything to do because Juanita's with him. I decided to find you." She smiled and hugged Jim before running over to play with Shirley, who looked bored.

Jim watched them and shook his head. Juanita's sister worried just as much as Juanita herself. They certainly were like best friends. But Jim was occupying his mind, most of the time, with something else. Juanita was a strong duelist, but how strong? Could she easily beat anybody? If that were the case, Justin and Lisa would probably destroy that calm, destructive power that was Juanita. But how would Alyse take it? Jim had never seen either of them duel, let alone tag-team. Was it possible that there was something more to the sisters?

---Juanita---

She was right next to Jesse as the lecture ended. The two were always the last ones to leave. It was kind of customary.

"I liked that dress you had on last night," Jesse commented. "I think red's your color."

"Huh," Juanita mumbled. "Alyse bought it for me a year ago and I never had a reason to be fancy. Never thought I'd need it for a party."

"Nice all the same." Jesse stood up with his book bag slung over his shoulder. "So, since we've got the rest of the day free, what do you plan on doing?"

"Finding Alyse. She tends to hide when she's got nothing else to do."

Jesse's face turned pink. "Can I come with?"

Juanita didn't say anything, she just walked towards the door, holding her book in her hand. Unlike Alexis, she held her book near her hip, rather than tucked into the corner of her arm by her chest. It was a trait she'd developed so she could chuck the book at any boys gawking at Alyse when she walked by. Right now, however, that was mostly for Juanita's own protection from the boys' prying eyes.

Jesse ran to catch up with Juanita's long strides. "Please? I mean, I have something for her...."

Juanita stopped and turned towards an outside corridor. "Then why are you still asking? You men do what you like anyways."

Jesse smiled and ran after her. "Hey, how do you know where you're going?"

Juanita smiled to herself. "Do you like Alyse?"

Jesse faltered mid-step, but followed Juanita again. "Why do ya'll say 'like'? I thought it was 'love' if ya'll wan'ed someone."

Juanita turned and her dark aura fell on Jesse. "So you don't like her?"

"Nah, I wouldn't put it that way." Jesse waved his arms in surrender. "I'm just saying that like ain't my kinda word fer her. She's more of a 'love' 'r 'hate' girl. I'm fallin' under love, though."

Juanita relaxed and grabbed his wrist. She started walking away. "Then let's go find her."

---Alyse and Jim---

She was kneeling beside him as he tried to catch his breath. "Why'd you go and do that?! I thought you were his friends!"

Lisa crossed her arms. "He won't tell us if he loves her or not. We've got every right to hurt him!"

Alyse heard Jim cough and she quickly paid all her attention to him. "Jim! Jim, are you okay?"

He coughed up blood. It also came out with something clear, like saliva.

Juanita froze just behind Lisa and Justin. Alyse was starting to cry. She didn't want Jim to be hurt, she didn't want them to hurt Jim anymore because Juanita and he had something different, something better. She covered Jim as Lisa aimed a kick towards his face. The pain shot through her back and then through her shoulder.

Juanita suddenly grabbed Lisa's wrist and threw her aside. Alyse was holding onto Jim. "Alyse, where's Shirley?!"

Alyse gave a little sniff and kept her eyes closed. "She.... she's run away."

Juanita saw blood coming from Jim's nose and she turned on Lisa and Justin. "What did you do?!"

Alyse pulled her jacket off and used the soft cloth to try and stop Jim's bleeding. She was upset that she couldn't do more. Juanita was the one who knew how to stop blood flow this bad, but Alyse had no knowledge of it. "Juanita, Juanita! He's bleeding out!"

Juanita gasped and quickly knelt beside Jim.

His eye focused on Juanita's face. He could see her mouth moving, he could tell she was saying something, but he couldn't hear a sound. His chest and left cheek were burning with pain, but he gritted his teeth through it. The vomit had come faster than he'd expected.... if you could call it vomit. It tasted like blood.

He closed his eyes. He was going to have to let his body do the rest....

Juanita's face was contorted in anger. She quickly tended to Jim's broken and bloody nose before getting up. She reached in her bag and pulled out her Duel Disk. "Jesse! Check Jim. Make sure his nose is free of blood so he can breath. The best thing to do is let him heal on his own."

Jesse nodded and ran between Alyse and Juanita.

Juanita held her hand up and motioned for Alyse to come closer. "Let's show these kiddies how real duelists team up."

Alyse nodded, wiping her eyes. She looked at the blood on her knees and the bottom of her shirt. It was kind of frightening, but it was how she would keep herself in check. She stood tall to her sister's left. "We challenge you as the Jones Sisters!" she said, in unison with Juanita.

Lisa smirked. "Oh, is that so? Then prepare to be beaten! Justin!"

All four activated their Duel Disks. Alyse knew who was going first, after all, Juanita liked to be in command.

"I draw!" Juanita drew her first card and looked at the cards she already held. "First, I place two cards Face-Down! That'll do it for me."

Alyse watched Justin draw.

"I play the Spell Card Tribulations of Down Under! By discarding one card from my hand, I can summon a Level Six or Seven monster from my hand. I summon Hunter Wildlife in Attack Mode and end my turn!"

Juanita gently tapped her bell and Alyse herd it's chime. She put her hand on the top card. "My draw!" She held it before her and smiled. She held out the card she just drew. "I play the Trap Card Singing of the Vampires! This card allows me to send one card from my hand to the Graveyard and summon Dracula, the Vampire from my Deck!" She followed this and set him out in Attack Mode. "Next, I play the Spell Card Dance to the Soul. Since I just played a Trap Card from my hand, Dance to the Soul allows me and my partner to automatically use Trap Cards in their first turn. Dance to the Soul has another ability, but that won't be until later. For now, I play Stravaganza, the Sorcerer in Defense Position and end my turn."

Jesse gritted his teeth. The prayed they would be okay. This was certainly going to be a duel for the ages. A hero and a side character versus those who want whats best for their friend. Jesse had his money on the hero and side character.

* * *

p3n-stroke: FIGHT FOR JIM'S LOVE!  
Alyse: T-T  
Juanita: i pray to the heavens i don't end up taking too long....  
p3n-stroke: *happy Juanita isn't choking it*


	14. Chapter 13: Duel for Change Prt2

Lisa raised her hand to her deck. "My draw! First, I activate the Spell Card Extraction of the Underdog! This Spell Card allows me to draw three cards by sacrificing three-hundred Life Points! Next, I play the Spell Card Execution of the Emblem! This card allows me to destroy one Face-Down! Goodbye, Juanita's left-side Face-Down!"

"Not so fast!" Juanita threw her hand out. "I activate it! Animal Emblem! This card allows me to summon monsters to the field from my hand! So, I summon Lioness, the Hunter, Hyena, the Hunter, and Aza, the Fox!"

"Hey, wait! Hyena's a level eight!"

"I know that. Animal Emblem takes half my Life Points to keep them on the field, as well as summon them, regardless of level!"

"Fine. One card Face-Down. Make your move."

"Why are you doing this?!" Juanita demanded. She threw her hand behind her. "He's your friend! Your best mate. Why would you go and cause him injury like that?!"

"Because he won't tell us why a worthless girl like you's got his heart!"

Alyse suddenly growled. It was low and menacing.

Juanita put her hand out. "No. We'll settle this like the sisters we are." She made a fist and punched the air between her and Alyse. "Agreed?"

Alyse nodded and her fist met Juanita's. "Agreed."

"Alright! My turn. I draw." Juanita looked at the card and smiled warmly. "This is a surprise. You played with my deck, didn't you?" Alyse nodded and Juanita smiled. "Well, time to prove my undeniable love for your friend Jim! I play this! The Trap Card Yearning for Love! When this card is in play, you automatically have to send Hunter Wildlife to the Grave. With that done, you gain a Yearn Token. I end my turn."

Justin drew his card. "I activate the Spell Card Feathers from a Distant Storm! This Spell Card allows me to destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field! I destroy Dance of the Soul!"

"You end your turn!" Alyse threw her hand out. "When Dance of the Soul is destroyed by another Spell Card, it's second effect kicks in. By being destroyed, Dance of the Soul allows my partner to draw five cards and I draw two. It also ends your turn. My draw." Alyse looked at her five cards. "First, I play this; the Spell Card Dance of Truth or Trust! All of us draw ten cards and play one Monster, Spell, and Trap Card! The rest are sent to the Grave!"

Juanita placed her's out first. "One Spell Card and Jackal of Hate in Defense Mode."

Justin placed his next. "I play one Spell and one Trap Card."

Lisa smirked. "I play one of each! My monster is Bone Bridge's Guardian."

"Ah, then I play this. One Spell, Trap, and Monster Card. Come forth, Crystallized Story Book! With that, I pass it on to you, Lisa."

Lisa touched her arm. She pulled her sleeve up and showed Juanita a feather tattoo. "You see this? This is a reminder that I lost Jim to my stupid pride! I don't want him to be as hurt as he was with me! Nobody gets to his heart without first knowing his suffering!"

Juanita was stunned, to say the least. But it was Alyse who spoke up.

"My sister is a loving person. You think she's a heartless woman? If that's the case! Then don't worry, I'll show you the real reason she's so kind. I'll show you just what she is. My sister isn't a heartless woman. I'll show you!"

"Really? Then stop speaking for her!" Lisa snapped. Her eyes flared with anger. "I won't have some insolent little girl interfere with my task!"

Jesse swallowed hard. "This is a stand-still. This isn't good. C'mon, girls. Ya'll've gotta pull through this one."

Jim groaned and Jesse whipped around. "What's...."

Jesse held a finger to his lips. "Shh. Watch."

Jim sat up, touching his broken lip. He looked up at Juanita.

"I draw! I play one card Face-Down. Let's see that undying devotion, Juanita!"

Juanita sighed. "I'm not ready to back down! I draw!" She didn't have to look at the card to know it. It was one of her eight old cards she scattered between her decks. "Firstly, I activate my Yearn Token's effect! Since it's a Level Seven Token, I can destroy it to summon a Level Seven! I summon Gang Hearts! When Gang Hearts is in play, guess what he gets to do?"

"Don't tell me it's bad...."

"Show me your hands! Both of you." Juanita counted it up. "Justin is attacked directly with one-thousand Attack Points! Lisa, you are attacked directly twice! And now, Gang Hearts returns to my hand. One more card to my three and that's the end of my turn."

Justin made a sniff. "I don't believe you're worth a lick off Jim's shoe!" He drew his card. "I play the Spell Card Recall of the Underdog! This allows me to summon Underdog Alpha from my hand. Alpha! Attack Alyse's Stravaganza, the Sorcerer! Fanged Jaw!"

Alyse gasped. "Ack! No!"

Juanita tapped her bell. Alyse suddenly stood down. Juanita threw her hand out. I activate my Face-Down! Call to the Beast! All your monsters on the field are destroyed as well as in your hand!"

"Not so fast! I activate Magic Jammer!"

Alyse rang her bell and threw her hand out. "I activate my Trap Card!"

Stravaganza exploded, but Alyse was still standing.

"Due to the effect of my Trap Card, Tying Trust forces all of us to go down to one-thousand Life Points!"

"Tch, then I end my turn."

"My draw." Alyse looked at her card and looked at Juanita. "It's time." She held out the card she'd just drawn. "First, I play a card Face-Down. Then I activate the Field Spell StoryTeller's Book! Now, Dracula gets a boost! His points go up three-fold! Next, I summon Cheshire, the Wonderland from my hand! Then I play one of my Face-Downs! I play the Trap Card Justifying the Fable! Me and Juanita here gain twenty-five-hundred Life Points. I also get to destroy a Face-Down while I'm at it."

Justin blanched. "No way...."

Alyse pointed to her recently played Face-Down. "I destroy my Face-Down Trap Card! By destroying Singing of the Vampires, we get to all draw two-cards each. If any are monsters, they are put in play. I summon Gemini, the Twins and Aesop, the Fable! Now, Aesop, Gemini, attack the Underdog Alpha! While I'm at it, Cheshire, Dracula! Attack Lisa!"

"Not so fast. I activate Wobuko!"

"Fine." Alyse smiled and put her hand on her deck. "I trust you'll make the most of your next turn. It's over when Juanita draws."

Lisa grunted. "No way am I losing Jim to you! I won't lose his smile to something so trivial!" She drew her card.

Jim saw her give off that dark smile and he staggered to his feet. He grabbed Alyse's shoulder. "You have to stop this, mate! I don't want you to attack her! Stop it, please."

Alyse smiled sadly at Jim. "Juanita never backs down."

Lisa growled at Alyse. "Don't talk to Jim so nicely! You don't deserve that! I summon and attack with my Underdog Sigma!"

"Not before I play this!" Juanita threw her hand out. Her Face-Down swung up. "Justifying the Humanoid! When Justifying the Fable has been used in this duel, Justifying the Humanoid automatically takes out fifteen-hundred Life Points from all players when an attack is declared! This duel is ours."

"No, I won't let your Trap Card stop us!" Justin threw his hand out. "I activate Remove Trap!"

"I play Magic Jammer!" Alyse yelled.

"Magic Cylinder!"

Alyse gritted her teeth. "I activate my Field Spell!" The story book under their feet started to turn pages faster than a human hand could ever. "When a monster on my side of the field is attacked, I can destroy and remove from play Cheshire and Aesop! By doing so, the activation of a chain is canceled! It's over."

"A tag-team who can predict each other." Lisa smiled and the damage was dealt.

Jim looked down at Alyse and she smiled up at him. "How...?"

Alyse held up her Duel Disk and the bell chimed. "We trust in our Decks and our bond as sisters. You have to have trust in change. That's our dueling motto. Bisogna avere fiducia nel cambiamento."

Juanita came over to the duo and put her hand on Alyse's Duel Disk. "henkō ni shinrai shi te iru hitsuyō ga ari masu."

Jim was surprised to hear them speaking each others language.

Jesse suddenly hugged Alyse. "You're so cute."

Alyse's face turned red.

Lisa charged up to Juanita and grabbed her shirt front. "What's the meaning of this?! How did you beat us?! We're Australia's unbeatable tag-team!"

Juanita touched Lisa's hand, moving it away. "Because we're sisters, cut from the same tree. I believed in her and she trusted me. There's nothing else to say. We beat you because I wanted to show you something. Here, draw my next card."

Lisa looked at her through narrowed eyes and drew the next card. "I Heart U?"

"Yes. That card allows you to pick a card in my hand and keep it as your own. If you played the selected card, you're protected from taking five-thousand points of piercing damage for as long as you have the card. I was hoping it would show up sooner, so you could beat us. I didn't want to win. Alyse knew that. She was trying really hard to drop out of the duel after she did enough damage."

Jim smiled at Juanita. "Certainly something I would've expected of you, Nita."

Juanita blushed so bright she could've made a stop sign jealous.

"Nita?" the group chorused.

"My nick name!" Juanita said.

"Ooh, much better than red."

Juanita got him in a choke hold, strangling him. Her leg was pushing his neck down while her hands were pulling his head up and back. "Say that again, saggy-butt! I'll show you a real nick name you can use on yourself!"

Jim laughed and Lisa gawked. "Nobody's ever made you laugh before, mate!"

Jim quickly covered his mouth while he leaned on Jesse and Alyse. "Sorry. She's just so amusing, how quickly she snaps, mate."

Juanita dropped Justin.... well, more like body slammed him into the nearest trash bin. Before proceeding to take hold of his head and throw him into the pool. He dove out of the water at her and Juanita was ready.... with her drop-kick....

Alyse laughed outright. She was joined by Lisa, who couldn't help it. Jesse and Jim were already having a KO moment with the laughter from Juanita's antics.

* * *

p3n-stroke: =___= ah, it's almost done....  
Juanita: +_+ i see Jim bleeding. someone gonna pay!  
Jim: NO! i'm right here....  
Jesse: KO! *holds up hands like he scored a touch down*  
p3n-stroke: o.o too many 'j' names here.... ALYSE!!  
Alyse: *clapping* yay! almost done!  
Lisa: -_-.... better be.... I'M TIRED OF JIM NOT HAVIN' NOBODY!  
Jim: GACK! *hides behind Juanita*


	15. Chapter 14: House or Home?

Jim was leaning on the railing. The salty air whipped across his face. It felt nice. The breeze was so kind and so warm.

He closed his eye and felt the ocean gently lull against the side of the boat.

Going home.

Jim was going home. Back to his life in the land down under. Back to the ordinary days of classes, seminars, and digs. Back to nothing to do in the afternoon and swimming with Shirley on a Sunday. Back to lazying about his house with Shirley and doing absolutely nothing....

He slowly put his hand to his face. Slowly he pushed away from the rail. It was sad to see the last place he'd see Juanita at. He walked back to the deck, where there was a pool. Shirley was lying in the sun. Jim decided to lie beside her. He missed Juanita already. It had been thirty minutes since she'd last spoken to him, but it felt like too long already.

"Hey, girl. You miss Alyse, huh?"

Shirley gave a groan.

Jim smiled and put his head on Shirley's, watching the ocean beyond the rails. "Maybe we'll see her again...."

---Australia---

Jim stretched out and touched his toes to the end of his bed. For the first time in nearly half a year, he couldn't reach the headboard. It felt nice to be back in his own bed. He kicked off his boots and heard them land on the floor.

The welcoming ceremony was too much. Jim had been overwhelmed by the loss in time. He had been homesick without realizing it. He'd managed to squeeze out a few hellos before going to his room. It wasn't even midday.

He rolled onto his side and stared at the open balcony door. The silk curtains gently moved in the breezes. The gold-framed, glass doors glistened in the high sun. The sounds of nature and the school echoed through the doors.

It was home.

Jim closed his eyes as the sounds he'd grown up with came wafting in.

He was really home....

'_Don't forget! I'll knock you good if you forget._'

Jim's eyes flared open and he scrambled for his bag. He unzipped an inner pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He flipped it open and searched the contacts. He found the person of interest and sat on the floor, beside Shirley.

It rang and rang. Finally--

"Hello?"

"Nita?"

"Hey! Surprised you called."

There was a loud "ding" and then someone speaking Russian.

"Oh, shut up. I know the flight landed...." Juanita mumbled something before talking to Jim again. "I just got off the plane and was checking my text messages. What's up?"

"I told you I'd call you, mate. I didn't think you'd take that long...."

"Hey, helicopters are nice and all, but they don't exactly help. Not to mention, I've got a bit of jet lag...."

Jim smiled and started digging through his bag again. "Well, it was nice to just give you a call. Maybe we should find time to connect again. For now...."

There was a knock and Jim got up. He slid on the wood floors slightly and opened the door.

There was a package and Jim accepted it. "Hey, maybe I should hang up."

"Nah, I've gotta go. Alyse can't find her suitcase. I'll have to help her, Jim. Sorry. I'll talk to you later."

Jim agreed and reached up, putting his cell on the dresser. He opened the box to find that Juanita had bought him a solid silver Duel Disk. There was an engraving on the underside of the playing field.

'_Don't forget to remember who and what you are. All you are makes you everything to Juanita. Alyse Yumiko Jones_'

Jim smiled. It wasn't Juanita. It was the sister that was too attached to his sister.

"Jim?"

Jim stood up and almost fell.

An older man, probably in his thirties was standing in the doorway. He had the same blue eyes as Jim, but his short, black hair was dusted with flecks of gray. He wore a dusty brown shirt and a pair of black jeans. His dark brown boots held his jeans in. He wore no hat.

"Dad!" Jim quickly went over and shook his father's hand, like always. "Hey, wasn't expecting anybody, mate."

"Well, I'm glad you haven't lost your touch, Jim."

"JIMMY! JIMMY! You're home!"

Jim knelt down and scooped up a little girl. "Ah! You're getting bigger and heavier! No wonder dad called you a bowling ball, mate!"

She had the same dark hair and her eyes were a soft brown. She wore a pair of jeans that were held up by a belt and a lime green shirt. She was barefoot. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. Her hands were covered by white gloves.

"Well, at least we know June missed you, James."

Jim nodded. "So, how is Ju today?" He made it sound like 'you' when he said her name. She giggled. Jim pretended to drop her and scooped her up high. "How is my little sister today?! Why can she fly so high, huh?!"

Mr. Cook smiled. June had grown close to Jim and had cried every time he called. June had asked when Jim would be coming home. Now that he was home, June was like her old self; loud, funny, and highly energetic. Thankfully, Jim was there to play with her when he wasn't in class or busy.

'_I wonder why you're so close to June. What happened at Central Academy? What changed you to become so close to your family?_'

Jim noticed his dad staring at him and cradled June into his arms. "Is something wrong, dad?"

"No. I was just thinking. Care for some soda?"

---Russia---

Alyse kicked Juanita's shin. "Hey, no gloom! No gloom!"

Juanita nodded. "I should've expected less. I was hoping maybe he'd be here."

Alyse and Juanita were being forced to walk fifteen miles home with their three bags. Juanita had carried Alyse and her Duel Disk, but Alyse insisted on dragging her own wheeled-suitcase home.

They approached the mansion. It sprawled out before them and Juanita sighed. She shoved the gate open and let Alyse through first.

"Not happy to be home?"

"No. Never will be."

"Maybe, when you marry Jim, you guys can buy a nice, little house!" Alyse said, optimistically. She smiled brightly at Juanita before she looked at the front door.

There he stood, Mr. Jones, along with his wife, Mrs. Jones.

Juanita took hold of Alyse and stepped forward first. "I'm home, mother, father. I brought Alyse home with me."

They glared down at Alyse. "Hurry along, then. We'll need you to go to practice in the basement. Waste of space will have to go clean up your room and make it livable again."

Juanita gave a cold look at them both before she held out her hand for Alyse's bag. "Why don't you go get started, I'll put these away."

Alyse nodded. She scurried around the two and vanished inside. When they turned to go back inside, Juanita growled at them. She hated them with a vengeance. Juanita had half a mind to poison them so they'd leave her and Alyse alone. But when she thought of that, she reminded herself she'd go to jail for it. She'd never see Jim from jail if that was the case.

Jim....

She shook herself and walked into the cold house. It wasn't a home. It really wasn't home.

Home was somewhere warm with a fire burning and someone there to hold you when you were scared. Home was a good meal and family time watching a movie. Home was a place to lay your head and feel safe. Home was someplace safe, warm, and kind.

This was a house. It was cold. There was no love except when it came to extreme marks on a test or an excellent score on an exam. There was no one waiting at the door to hug you when you walked in. It was dark and secluded. It was frozen in an age when the house was covered in blood and screams and broken dolls and shed tears.

Juanita made a silent vow. She was going to make her family feel welcome, warm, and safe. She wouldn't let another child end up like Alyse. She didn't want a mentally scared child. Alyse needed someone to save her. Juanita promised herself she wouldn't make her children so dependent. Juanita wanted them to be family. Not a slave.

'_Nita? Promise me we'll meet again, kay? I want to see you again._'

She smiled and set the bags at the bottom of the spiral staircase. "It's a promise."

* * *

**A/N:** guess it's time to show you more of Juanita..... and Alyse.... anyways! next chapter will be more interesting.... i hope.............


	16. Chapter 15: Contact Her

---Juanita---

She groaned and put her hand out.

The buzzing....

She slammed her fist into the snooze button and it stopped. Her hand fell off the bedside table and she suddenly heard....

DING!

She shot up and grabbed her cell phone. It was a text message from Jim.

"G'day.... er, morning."

She smiled and looked up at the clock. It was just about noon there. "G'day."

She heard someone groan from under her bed. Juanita leaned over and pulled the skirt up. Alyse was sleeping under her bed.... again. "Hey, we'll be late. Hurry up."

---Australia---

Jim sat back. He stretched.

Ah, his back popped.

Jim sighed and drummed his fingers on the desk. His pencil was balanced on his eraser. His eraser was balanced on a paper ball. The paper ball was balanced on the edge of his desk. He had yet to fully get back into the swing of class. It wasn't as large as Jaden's classes, but Jim was busy enough with the class of twenty, rather than fifty. But something was really hard about going back....

How do you forget?

How do you get over it?

The bell rang and Jim scooped up his trapeze act. He took his time, packing up his books and binders. He picked up his notebook and pencil. He tucked the pencil into the spiral of the notebook. He slowly walked out the door, the flood in the halls being absolutely ordinary.

Jim felt out of place now. Shirley had found a nice, sunny spot in the front yard to sleep while he was studying. But it wasn't that.

He felt out of place.... way out of place.

"Jim!"

He looked back at Lisa. She smiled and ran up to him. "Hey, what's up?"

"What's wrong with you?!" Lisa stomped on his foot. "Haven't you actually _called_ her?!"

Jim shrugged.

Lisa reached behind him and unhooked the belt with his deck box. "Then I'll just take this!" She ran off.

Jim gave her a head start. He was fast, thanks to his nimble, long legs. He managed to sprint down the hall and catch Lisa by the front door. He held her up with one hand and made his way outside. He set her down beside Shirley. "Give."

She smiled. "Not until you stop moping! Call Juanita. I bet she's waiting for you to call her."

"Why? It won't work. Long-distance never works."

"Then duel me! I'll show you what she showed me. I could see her strength, her heart. Dueling gives her a rush. But being near you when you smile gives her a better, stronger rush. I bet she acts like Alyse when she gets a message from you."

"How would--" Jim cut himself off.

Lisa was a girl.

He kept forgetting that!

"Yeah, that's how I know. Now, duel me!"

"No, no." Jim waved his hand. "I'll call her, _after_ my seminar."

"Yes, Mr. Cook!" Lisa saluted him. "Have fun with the delinquents."

Jim just stood beside Shirley, watching Lisa. Would it have been easier with Lisa? He silently kicked himself in the rear. Lisa had insisted Jim wasn't best for her. Lisa had said that Juanita knew Jim's heart better. That some girl who lived with a deranged father and mother and a slightly sadistic sister knew the heart of a professor, archeologist, duelist, and young man better than a strong-willed, kind, protective woman he'd grown up with?

Jim sighed and sat down. "Am I over thinking things, girl?"

Shirley gave a little growl.

Jim smiled. "You're right. I'll do whatever it takes."

---Russia---

Alyse flopped down in the library. She was still wearing her uniform.

The Russian Academy of Duelists was actually much more strict than Central Academy. The uniforms for the girls had ankle-length, black skirts. The blazers depended upon entrance exam scores. Alyse had scored in the top ranks. She wore a bright blue blazer. Juanita wore a pure red one. There was no deviations for Juanita's, but she had scored the highest and was the prodigal daughter everyone had been looking for.

Alyse's black boots clicked softly on the stone floor of the library. She was alone because Juanita had gotten a call from Jim and was hiding in her dorm.

Alyse hadn't gotten a message from Jesse, but wasn't worrying about it. Jesse had probably gotten back into the swing of his school. She had to find her rhythm again. Alyse was bad at change. But, she was giving it a try.

---America---

Jesse was sprawled in the grass, waiting for Ashton. He finally sat up and was about to yell when Ashton walked up.

He was a dark-gray-haired boy with the darkest blue eyes that would've put Jim's to shame. Ashton was a professional, but not widely known.

"Here. I managed to find her number. Take it or leave it."

Jesse grinned at Ashton. "Thanks." As soon as Ashton was gone, Jesse dialed the number.

"Privet?"

Jesse blinked. "Alyse?"

"ACK! Jesse."

He smiled. He knew she was smiling.

* * *

p3n-stroke: =___=  
Juanita and Jim: WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!  
Alyse: o///o  
Jesse: x.x  
p3n-stroke: hey, it's a prelude to the last chapter.... *hint hint*


End file.
